I'm So Scared, Please Help Me
by Lady Winterlight
Summary: Ozhawk has written a large collection of short one-shots (please go check them out!) and has graciously allowed me to continue this one into a longer story. This first chapter is as it originally appeared in her shorts collection. Soulmates / soulmarks AU. Spoilers for AOS S2E10 and CA: TWS.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm So Scared, Please Help Me**

_Steve/Bucky/Skye_

SkyeStucky? Stuckye? CaptainWinterQuake?

**Contains SPOILERS for AoS S02ep10.**

**Hello readers! This story is being written on inspiration from another writer. Ozhawk has written a large collection of short one-shots (please go check them out!) and has graciously allowed me to continue this one into a longer story. This first chapter is as it originally appeared in the short. I will continue in Chapter 2. So if this first part reads a little differently than my usual writing – that's why.**

**Chapter 1**

_Steve_

He'd never had a soulmark, back in the old days. So when S.H.I.E.L.D. retrieved him from the ice and thawed him out, he was a little horrified to find that he had _two_. And one of them featured a name that would haunt him forever.

_Who the hell is Bucky?_

The world would not forget Bucky Barnes – and the other Howling Commandoes – if Steve had a say in it. So he helped set up the exhibit at the Smithsonian, grieved for his friend – and yes, occasional lover, though that had been very much a secret – and mentioned Bucky every time he was interviewed.

Of course, he hadn't anticipated the fact that one of his soulmates would turn out to _be_ Bucky. A very lost, broken Bucky. It took six weeks for Steve and Natasha – using all of Stark's vast resources – to track him down after Washington, and another six months of therapy and hypnosis for Bucky to return to something like his old self.

Bruce had a theory on how Bucky and Steve didn't used to be soulmates, but were now.

"You needed your third to be born. There's documented cases of people who knew each other already, whose words spontaneously appeared when their third was born. In all those cases, it's been the _next_ words the soulmates spoke to each other, not the first."

"What do we do about her? We assume it's a _her_." Steve gestured to the second mark on his forearm. Bucky had a second mark too, in the same, distinctly feminine handwriting.

"Well, I understand you both like girls as well as guys," Bruce gave them one of his weary smiles. "Certainly from the stories Peggy Carter used to tell about you, Steve. And if Bucky was even a tenth as good with the girls as his character has always been portrayed on screen…"

"I meant what do we _do_ about her." Steve bit his lip and looked at the words on his arm. _I'm so scared_, the words said. The words on Bucky's calf were even more frightening. _Please help me._ "It seems like she may be in some kind of trouble when we find her."

"We take care of her and we deal with whatever, or _whoever_, is frightening her," Bucky rumbled. He was still, at the core, the same Bucky that Steve had known – and loved – since they were children. "HYDRA told me, when the words appeared – and _no_, Steve, I still haven't figured out exactly when, I just know both sets were on me when they defrosted me one time – that I had to kill whoever said them to me."

"I take it you've decided not to follow that order now?" Bruce raised his eyebrows.

"Definitely not," Bucky glanced sideways at Steve. "Punk's still alive, ain't he?"

"Shut up, you jerk, you certainly gave it a go."

"That was when I was still Зимний Солдат, you ass!"

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you too!"

"Just go fuck, both of you. That poor girl," Bruce murmured, turning back to his lab bench. "How she's going to put up with the pair of you, I can't begin to imagine."

Steve grinned at Bucky, pulling on his wrist. "Come on, jerk."

"If people only knew what Captain America was really like." Bucky followed Steve. "Bruce is right, though. The poor girl's got no idea what she's in for."

"She needs us," Steve said quietly, later. _Much_ later. "That's why we're her soulmates. She's in enough trouble that she needs _us_."

Bucky, on the edge of sleep, rolled over and looked at him. "Then we get her out of it. You and me, Stevie. Ain't nuthin' we can't pull our girl out of."

"Sure hope you're right, Buck," Steve's hand still rested on Bucky's hip. "Because I love you, but I do miss girls."

"Me too," Bucky murmured quietly. The corner of his lip twitched up in a grin. "Hope she's pretty."

"She'll be beautiful to us," Steve said confidently.

"She'll prob'ly like you best anyway."

"That's not how it works, Buck," Steve told him softly. "She's _our_ soulmate. _Both_ of us. I'd never let anyone come between us anyway, you big jerk."

Bucky chuckled. "You sure about that?"

"You have a _filthy_ mind." Steve jabbed him in the ribs.

"You love it."

"Jerk."

"Punk."

_Bucky_

They found her in the last place they'd ever have expected. In the Avengers' Mission Room, a whole floor of Tony Stark's tower dedicated to planning and the storage of their equipment. Tony had received a surprise call from someone named Coulson – surprising largely because apparently the guy was supposed to be dead – saying there was someone he needed help with. They all gathered in the Mission Room.

The other Avengers greeted Coulson warily, and he gestured to the small, slim woman standing beside him. She had long brown hair and frightened eyes.

"This is Agent Skye. She recently had a somewhat – otherworldly experience in Puerto Rico. I – honestly think she might be better with you guys. The Avengers."

"Better how, exactly?" Tony demanded.

"Skye's developed, um, a certain power. The earth shakes at her command."

"Ah, that explains the sudden unexplained seismic activity down in Virginia," Natasha murmured, crossing her arms and giving the young woman an appraising look.

"What the hell are you doing bringing her here, Coulson?" Tony gabbled out, backing away from Skye. "You want to level New York? Christ, at least we're not in LA, you could have split the San Andreas right open!"

"I've got it under control!" Skye said sharply, the first time she'd spoken. She glared at Tony. "I just – my team treat me differently now. I'm not one of them any more." She turned to Steve, eyes beseeching. "I'm so scared."

Steve sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at Bucky. He willed himself not to react, but he couldn't help moving towards Skye.

"What do you need from us, doll?"

"Please help me," she stared up at him, tears welling in those dark, dark eyes.

"Of course," he said softly.

"I don't want to be alone any more. I've spent my whole life being alone."

"No more," Steve came to them. "You don't have to be alone any more." He placed a gentle hand on Bucky's waist and another on Skye's shoulder. "You've got us now."

"Um, what the fuck, I thought we had to _vote in_ any new members of the Avengers?" Tony said sharply. "Since when did you two get to pick and choose?"

"Since we found our soulmate," Bucky answered, since Steve seemed to be lost staring into the depths of Skye's eyes.

There was a chorus of "What? What the fuck?" and "Holy shit" from around the room, and a grateful gasp of "Oh thank God," from Agent Coulson. Skye turned to him, and he put his arms around her in a paternal hug.

"You'll be fine, Skye. They'll take care of you. I couldn't ask for anyone better."

_Skye_

They left her alone with her soulmates. Barton and Romanoff had told Tony flatly that they wouldn't be party to any attempt to separate soulmates – Skye noticed that their hands were clasped tightly together – and that therefore as far as they were concerned, Skye was in. Outvoted even before Banner and Wilson spoke up, Tony conceded with reasonable grace and invited Coulson – or 'Agent' as he called him, up to his bar for a drink.

They were both huge men, towering over her, and Skye peered up at them a bit shyly. Steve – _Captain America_, although he looked very normal, if a bit ungodly handsome, in regular clothes – was smiling brightly at her. Barnes looked more serious, but there was still joy in his deep blue eyes.

"I'd say I'm sorry for what happened to you," Bucky said, "but honestly, I'm not, because it brought you to us." He turned his arm and showed her the words on the back of his forearm.

Steve took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Skye. She accepted it with a grateful sniff and wiped her face. "I'm sorry, I'm not making much of a first impression!"

"Quite the contrary," Steve said gallantly. "I don't know about Buck, but I'm so glad we're not having to rescue you from a hostage situation or something with bullets flying all around!"

She blinked, read the words on his arm as he pulled up his sleeve, and smiled slightly. "Oh. Yes, I can see how that would seem likely." Skye hesitated, and then turned around, pulling up the tight black T-shirt she was wearing. Their words were written in the small of her back, two lines of tight text almost on top of each other. "I guessed you two would already be together. I – if you want a platonic bond, I'd be okay with that…"

"No!" Steve and Bucky said in horrified unison.

"Not unless you really don't want to be with both of us," Steve qualified. "But – we've been waiting for you. Hoping you'd be – okay with us both."

A small smile curved Skye's mouth. "Captain America and the Winter Soldier? What girl would turn that down? But – I wouldn't want to get in the middle…"

"Really?" Bucky said with a salacious grin. "Because that's exactly where I'd want you."

"Bucky!" Steve blushed bright red and rammed an elbow into his ribs. "You jerk!"

Skye covered her mouth with her hand and started to giggle, suddenly realising the _double entendre_ she'd just made. She could feel herself blushing just _thinking_ about it. And – also getting very hot and bothered. Because there was no denying how gorgeous they both were.

Bucky, pushing his luck, moved in closer and reached to put two gentle fingers – his human hand – under Skye's chin, tipping her face up. "Since Punk here got to hear his words first," he murmured, "may I even the score by getting the first kiss?"

"No fair!" Steve muttered, but he made no real attempt to intervene, indeed moved slightly to the side to get a better view.

Skye smiled. "I'm not having you two boys keeping score over me," she said sternly. Recognising that she needed to put herself on an equal footing with them now, or they'd probably walk all over her.

Bucky inclined his head, accepting her terms. That, of course, brought his lips a good deal closer, and she couldn't help but focus on them. They were plush, pink and soft, incongruous in his chiselled, hard face. Skye licked her own lips, wondering how he'd taste. And then he kissed her.

Steve couldn't believe how turned on he was watching Bucky kiss Skye. She slipped slender arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe – she was pretty tiny, maybe five foot four, Steve reckoned – but she looked just right there in Bucky's arms. His fingers itched for pencil and paper, to capture that image. And then Bucky lifted his head, his eyes glazed, breath coming a little fast.

"Come here, punk," he held out his metal arm.

Steve approached slowly, looking at Skye a little shyly. He'd only ever kissed one girl before, and that was Peggy Carter, a long time ago by any measure. Skye looked beautiful, gazing up at him with her eyes shining, removing one of her arms from around Bucky's neck and holding it out.

"Come on, Steve. We're not leaving you out."

He joined them, feeling Bucky's arm slide around his waist, Skye's small hand on the back of his neck. She pulled encouragingly, and he put one arm around each of them and stooped to press his lips to hers.

It was a soft, gentle kiss, full of promise for the future, an acknowledgement that she wasn't ready yet. But when she was, they would both be waiting. Skye stood in the circle of their arms, both her soulmates holding her close, and let out a sigh of relief.

_I'll never be alone again._

**1994 words.**

**Obviously, this is some time post Season 2 episode 10. For those of you who didn't read any episode reviews on line or are not comic followers, we learned that Skye is Daisy (Johnson), aka Quake in comic canon. Who is an Avenger.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Hello again, lovely readers. I need to start this off by saying that I'm NOT familiar with Quake as she appears in the MCU. However, I do love AoS and Skye is my favourite character thus far. So I will be writing from that angle. If I run contrary to MCU canon, you will have to forgive me. This is essentially going to be an AU taking off from S2e10 of AoS.**

_I'll never be alone again._ It was an unbelievably comforting thought for a girl who had spent most of her life being nothing BUT alone. She had always wanted a place to belong. Skye had thought she'd found her place with Coulson and his team; for a while, it had even been true. But now, with this new power of hers…

Skye sighed softly and smiled up at her two soulmates. Their return smiles were dazzling and warmed her all the way to her toes. But she needed to know more about them. She knew what S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about them, but that didn't tell her much about who they were. "Can I ask how long you two have been together?" she asked in the quiet of the room. "I mean, I know you've known each other forever, but that doesn't necessarily mean…"

Steve chuckled and nodded. "We've been close since we were kids," he explained as he steered them towards the elevators. "I'll be happy to tell you more about it, but maybe somewhere more comfortable?"

Skye hesitated, then nodded. She wasn't sure if she was ready yet to go somewhere "more comfortable" with the two of them – but everything she knew about Steve told her that he wouldn't push her into anything she wasn't ready for. But anyone could walk back into the meeting room. "Sure," she agreed. "Is there a way to tell AC where we're going, though? I want to say goodbye before he leaves."

"Of course," Steve agreed. "JARIVS?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers?" Skye looked around for the source of the voice, confused.

"Would you please tell Agent Coulson that we're taking Skye to our floor and ask him to stop by before he leaves?"

"Of course."

"Stark's AI," Bucky whispered to Skye in explanation while Steve handled her request. "It monitors the whole tower; handy sometimes."

"I see." Skye idly wondered how long it would take her to hack the system, but she wouldn't try right away. "Thank you, JARVIS."

"You are quite welcome, Miss..?"

"Skye. Just Skye." She caught the startled look from both Bucky and Steve. "I don't have a last name. I was an orphan."

"Very well, Miss Skye," the AI replied. "I believe Miss Potts is preparing a residence for you currently, should you wish for your own space."

Skye kept her eyes on her soulmates as she replied, "I think that might be for the best. This is all… so unexpected. I wasn't even sure if AC could get you to take me in, let alone all the rest." Though both men nodded their agreement and acceptance of her wishes, she took note of the disappointment in their eyes.

"Just ask when you are ready," the AI offered helpfully. "I am always available to guide you until you know your way around."

"Thank you." Skye pulled gently out of her soulmates' embrace and picked up her backpack. Bucky took it from her with a grin and shouldered it as he and Steve offered her their arms at the same time. Skye blinked, startled, then looped her hands into both arms with a smirk. "You two might take some getting used to," she quipped.

"We might," Bucky agreed with a laugh. "But I have a feeling that you might, too. C'mon. Let's go upstairs."

The trio entered the elevator and JARVIS immediately took them to the right floor. Steve led the way into their apartment; it took up an entire floor of the tower. Skye looked around, wide-eyed; the elevator let them out into a large living space with a tv, stereo system, and a couple of large couches, and picture windows showing the lights of New York City. Off to the right was a large kitchen, full of high-end modern appliances. A hall to the left showed several closed doors and one open one; the open one showed only a glimpse of white tiles that Skye assumed was the bathroom.

"Wow," Skye said, clearly impressed. "Our whole team lived in less space than this. Stark must like you."

Steve laughed. "He had apartments like this built for all of the Avengers," he explained as he led her to the couch. "Natasha and Clint live on the floor above us. Banner's on the one above that, and Stark lives up on the top two. Below us are the guest suites, which I'm guessing is where Pepper is arranging a place for you." He smiled. "Can I get you something to drink, Skye? Buck, want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," Bucky answered as he settled onto the couch. He pulled Skye down beside him with his human arm, wrapping it around her gently.

"Tea, maybe? If it's not too much trouble." Skye didn't want to be a pain, but she was used to having access to hot drinks at all hours.

"Of course not. Hot or iced?" Steve headed for the kitchen area.

"Whatever you have available is fine."

Steve returned momentarily with a tall glass of iced tea and handed it to Skye with a smile. "It's no trouble, Skye." He settled on Skye's other side, but gave her a little space, settling where he could look at his soulmates. "So you were asking about the two of us? I'm guessing you know the history."

"Well, yeah," she agreed readily. "Who doesn't? And I know what S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about the Winter Soldier, too. But that doesn't tell me much about you guys… you know, personally."

"So you want to know about the blokes behind the stories?" Bucky asked with a grin. "I can tell you all kinds of tales about the fights that punk used to get into before he became _super_."

"Watch it, jerk," Steve replied. "I can tell her a bunch about you, too!"

"The comics and movies all painted you as quite the ladies' man," Skye teased, looking at Bucky over her shoulder. "Do I want to know the truth? I might have to be jealous…"

"Nothin' to be jealous over, doll," Bucky replied, nuzzling against Skye's neck for a moment. "Only relationship in my life that ever lasted was him." He nodded towards Steve. Skye's eyes went wide and her mouth formed a little O of surprise as Steve nodded.

"He's right," Steve agreed readily, reassuring her without thinking twice about it. "We didn't have marks until you, though," he continued. "Seems that you're the link between us."

Skye's eyes got even wider and filled with tears that she refused to let fall. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She felt like an interloper, much like she had when she first joined Coulson's team. The new kid, who didn't know what bound the group together.

"I'm not," Bucky said as he pulled her closer. "We love each other, doll. Always have. But that doesn't mean that we can't love you, too."

Skye shook her head but stopped when Steve spoke up. "No, he's right." Steve slid closer and captured one of Skye's hands, bringing it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on her fingers. "There has been something missing from our lives. We've discussed it more than once after we realized that we would be part of a trio of soulmates. We need you, too, Skye. We need you to be complete."

"If you're sure," Skye whispered, blinking back the tears in her dark eyes. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, trying to smile for them instead. "So I guess there's a lot you want to know about me, too?"

"Of course," Steve agreed. "But we don't want to rush you or anything."

"It sounds like your childhood wasn't the best," Bucky agreed. "So let's skip over that. You're a part of S.H.I.E.L.D., though?"

"Yeah," Skye confirmed. "I hacked their systems and they caught me. Coulson's team brought me in, and then eventually I became part of the team. I'd only just officially become an agent when the whole Hydra thing happened, though. Since then it's been a lot of working from the shadows, trying to rebuild."

"Coulson said that you'd just recently acquired your powers?"

Skye nodded and told them about finding the city under San Juan. She couldn't stop the tears from falling when she told them about Trip's death down there, and what had happened to Mack in the alien city.

"Do they know yet why you… changed, instead of what happened to the others?" Steve asked gently, rubbing her hand comfortingly as Bucky wiped away her tears.

"Yeah, kinda," she agreed in a quiet voice. "I'm an 0-8-4."

Steve blinked. "An object of uknown origin?"

"Wait, what?" Bucky asked, clearly confused.

"My father… isn't human. And my mother had a power, too. She didn't age. I'm told Whitehall and Hydra caught her and wanted to experiment on her in the 40s. She was rescued by an SSR agent you knew: Peggy Carter. Anyway, when he found my mom again in the 80s, right after I was born, she hadn't aged at all." Skye's eyes were haunted, the knowledge of what had happened to her mother – as told by her father – still burned within her. She noticed both men stiffen for a moment as she mentioned Hydra, but they were quickly distracted by the soft ding of the elevator.

"We don't know if Skye inherited her mother's power or not," Coulson spoke up from just outside the elevator doors. "But if she did, that just makes her all the better paired with you."

"AC!" With a happy smile for the older agent, Skye wriggled free of Bucky's arms and dashed over to him. Then she sobered. "You're here to say that you're leaving, aren't you."

"Yeah, I am," Coulson agreed. He pulled Skye in for the hug she so clearly needed and held her gently for a long moment. "But if you need me, you just call, okay?" he said to her softly. She nodded and smiled a little. Coulson smiled back before looking seriously at the two men now standing in the living room beside the couch. "If you hurt her, either of you, know that I will find you. And Avengers or not, I will make you pay."

Steve nodded solemnly and elbowed Bucky until he nodded as well. "We have no intention of hurting her, sir. I promise you."

"Alright, AC, no need to go all 'dad' on me now," Skye smirked. "I'll be in touch. You won't get rid of me that easily."

"Be safe, Skye," Coulson said, touching her cheek gently. "I'll always be here if you need me."

"I know," she whispered. Her eyes filled with tears but she gave him a brave smile. "Thank you. For everything."

Coulson nodded and with one last hug he stepped back into the elevator. Skye sniffled but took a deep breath. She closed her eyes as she felt two pairs of arms fold her into a gentle embrace. "It's alright to be sad," Steve reassured her gently. "We understand."

"I know," she whispered, leaning into their solid warmth. "Coulson… the team, really, was the closest thing to family that I'd ever had. It hurts that they treat me differently now. That I had to leave."

"Shh, love," Bucky murmured in her ear. "We won't treat you differently because you have powers. We'll always be here to help. We'll be your family, if you want us to."

"I know," she whispered again. She opened teary eyes but smiled as she looked up at them. "I just need some time."

"We understand," Steve assured her again. "Would you like us to show you to your room? It's getting late, and I'm sure you could use some rest."

Skye nodded but stayed where she was, standing between them, for a long moment. Then she sighed and gently moved away. "Thank you. For understanding. It's not that I don't want this, it's just…" She trailed off as Bucky kissed her again, making her knees go weak.

"It's just too much all at once. We understand," Steve assured her gently as he watched them kiss. Again he was hit with the urge to draw them, to show her how wonderful they looked together. But later.

"We can be a little much to take," Bucky agreed with a smirk as he released her lips. "Get some rest, doll. We'll wait for you as long as it takes." He released her and stepped back. He wanted her; God, did he want her. But it was her choice, and if she wanted to wait he would respect that. So he stepped back and waved as he watched them step into the elevator.

"To Skye's room, please, JARVIS," Steve said as the elevator doors closed. The doors opened, as expected, on the guest floor. The AI led them to the prepared suite; it wasn't nearly as large as the apartment above, as there were four such suites on this floor. But the space was equipped with its own kitchen, living area, bathroom, bedroom and office. Skye caught sight of her laptop bag by the desk and her suitcases were already in the bedroom.

"It's nice," Skye commented after he showed her around. "More space than I've had to myself in a while."

"If you need anything, anything at all, just ask." Steve pulled her into a gentle embrace, and Skye went willingly. She wrapped her arms around him as well and rested her head on his chest.

"I will," she promised softly. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Skye lifted her head to smile at Steve. She leaned up towards him and urged his head down to kiss him softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And thank you, too," he whispered. "Sleep well, lovely lady."

Skye smiled and waved as he left her alone in her new home. With a sigh, she promised herself that she'd unpack in the morning and went to get herself ready for bed.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It took Skye two weeks to settle into a routine at the Tower. The first morning, she had settled for coffee and toast in her room until a rather concerned Steve - freshly showered after his morning run, she found out when she asked - stopped by to make sure she was okay after she'd missed breakfast. She blinked at him in surprise and he sheepishly realized that she hadn't known about breakfast. He'd taken her up to the floor above Banner's apartment and below Stark's; the floor was entirely common living space. On one side were a large home theatre, and a lounge area with a bar. On the other side was a gym, with a large, clear workout space as well as weight machines, bikes and treadmills. Set right in the center of the floor was a large kitchen/dining area with staff there to prepare meals. "And there are always snacks," Steve promised her. "Just tell them what you'd like and they'll stock it for you." Skye grinned at that.

After exploring the gym, Skye resumed her physical training in the mornings; she kept up her Tai Chi – though not at 6am, thank God – with the help of some videos to build on the basics that May had taught her. Steve and Bucky wouldn't spar with her, but a gentleman she met named Sam would. And after several days, Natasha offered to teach her as well; Skye found that learning from Natasha was a great deal like learning from May. But though she didn't have the physical enhancement to keep up with Black Widow, the technique worked far better for her than learning from men who had strength and reach on her. The situation reminded her of going from Ward as a teacher to May.

Though she was no longer involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. missions, Skye maintained her watch over possible Hydra movements and information trails. She communicated with Coulson every few days, and he sent her updates on things they were watching for. It was hard for her to accept that she couldn't be part of his team anymore, but she tried to stay involved and to help out as best she could from a distance.

Stark capitulated after a few days and set her up a room with enough containment to allow her to practice using her power, so she could learn better control without hurting anyone. It helped her confidence immensely. Skye also found herself rather liking Tony; they had rather compatible senses of the absurd, and she thought she'd managed to impress him with her computer skills. They'd chat about tech over lunch, and after her months of listening to Fitzsimmons' technobabble, she actually managed to understand most of what Tony would talk about.

The best part, though, was that she had plenty of time to explore her relationship with her soulmates. Skye knew they lived and slept together while she stayed on her own. In a way, it was a relief to know that she could take her time getting comfortable with them. If she pulled away before things could get too hot and heavy, she was the only one who had to sleep alone afterwards.

"..and when we got back to camp, we were hailed as heroes," Bucky told her with a grin, wrapping up another of their old war stories from the forties as they relaxed after lunch one afternoon a few weeks later. Skye grinned and nodded, enjoying the way Steve and Bucky would trade back and forth during the telling of tales. Their different points of view occasionally led to good-natured bickering about how exactly something had happened, but Skye enjoyed it as it only gave her more insight to their love for each other.

And Skye knew without a doubt that they loved each other deeply. It was obvious to her, showing in every interaction. She was getting better about opening up to them, too. She'd told them about her parents, about the orphanage… and about Ward. If she were being honest with herself, she was falling for them, and fast. But it scared her a little. "Penny for your thoughts, doll?" Bucky asked, breaking into her musing.

"Just enjoying watching the two of you," she told him with a laugh.

"Why?" Steve seemed genuinely curious to her and she couldn't help but smile.

"Because it makes me happy to watch the two of you interact with so much love in your eyes," she admitted softly. "Even if…" she paused, then pushed herself to be honest at the expectant looks they gave her, "…even if it makes me wonder how I could ever fit in with you as well as you do with each other." Skye bit her lip, looking at them with vulnerable eyes.

"Oh, Skye," Steve began as he caught her hand between his large ones. "You already do fit with us."

Skye shook her head but Bucky cut her off with a kiss; his fingers tangled into her hair and he pulled her close as Steve moved to her other side. "You are an amazing woman, Skye," Bucky murmured to her without letting her go. "You're beautiful and strong and you've been through so much. We know that you've been hurt and betrayed before and we haven't wanted to push you. But we love you, more than we ever thought we could."

Skye looked up, wide eyed, "You do? You love me?"

"We do," Steve agreed, his voice soft but intense. "It's very easy to love you, Skye. No, don't argue," he cut her off when she shook her head. "You're lovely and caring and I can tell that you feel things very deeply. You put up walls because you have a hard time trusting people, but you trusted us enough to share your pain and your past. We won't let you down, love. We'll be here for you for as long as you want us."

When Skye hesitated, not sure what to say, Bucky caught Steve's eye. "Go get your book," he said insistently. "She needs to see it."

With a decisive nod, Steve got to his feet. "I'll be right back." He pressed a soft kiss to Skye's hair before disappearing into the bedroom. Skye looked at Bucky, puzzlement plain on her face. Bucky only chuckled and waited for Steve to return. Skye looked a little confused when a sketchbook was set in front of her. "I started this the day after you moved in downstairs," Steve explained. "Go ahead, open it."

Slowly, Skye opened the cover. On the very first page was a picture of herself and Bucky; he held her gently as he kissed her, and Skye could see contentment in his drawn expression. "You drew this, Steve?" she asked quietly, and he nodded. "Why?"

"I always enjoyed drawing. Sometimes it's easier to show something than to explain it. And it means that I never lose the memories of those little moments. It can be so easy to let the quiet times get lost in the larger events," Steve explained, and Skye nodded her acceptance.

She slowly paged through the book; every page held images of herself, Bucky or both. Curled up together on the couch to watch a movie. Laughing over something; probably Tony, Skye guessed. One showed her working on her laptop. Another captured one of her Tai Chi poses, and she blinked. "I didn't know you watched me work out," she murmured.

"Couldn't help it," Steve replied, blushing a bit. "You move so beautifully, Skye."

Skye blushed, but continued turning pages. There was one of Bucky in a way that Skye had never seen him: curled up, sleeping peacefully. Skye traced her fingertip over his peaceful expression, drawn on the page and couldn't help but smile. The next one showed her, standing out on the balcony with her face turned up towards the sun and her eyes closed.

Skye felt her resistance crumbling, the more pictures she looked at. There was emotion in every single drawing, even the quick sketches that clearly weren't finished yet. She looked up at Steve, tears in her dark eyes as fear and disbelief gave way to hope and love. She set the book down and pulled Steve in for a kiss, expressing her feelings in the best way she could: without words. He sat back in his seat when she released him, startled; his expression softened into a smile when she turned the same hopeful expression on Bucky and leaned in to kiss him as well.

"I love you, both of you," she whispered as she released Bucky. "I'm sorry for making you wait. I just… I had to be sure…"

"It's alright, doll," Bucky assured her. "We understand."

She shook her head. "I'm not sure you do. I needed to know that it was _me_ you wanted. Not just your missing soulmate, not just some destiny thing. But actually me. Not all soulmate bonds are love matches. I know that. And when I knew you'd be together when I met you, well…"

"Shh, love." Steve knelt on the floor beside her, wrapping both of his soulmates into his embrace. "There was never any question of whether or not we'd want you, Skye. Not for us. I think we were ready to love you, no matter who you turned out to be. But then we met you, and we fell for you as we realized just how perfect for us you really are. Not because you're our soulmate; because you're _our Skye_."

"Our Skye," Bucky agreed in a soft rumble as he tightened his arms around her. "You talk with us, you laugh with us, and you're not afraid to laugh at us when we're being ridiculous. You're not afraid of us because we're stronger than you physically, and you're not intimidated when we get angry."

"Well, only a little," Skye corrected him softly. "But I know you'd never hurt me, so it's easy to just snark back at you."

"But that's just it. You stand up for yourself, and you're so beautiful when you get all fierce and sassy." Bucky grinned at her, heat in his eyes as he watched her blush.

"Always did love me a strong woman," Steve added. "I know we've told you stories about Peggy Carter; you do sometimes remind me of her a little bit. She didn't take crap from anyone, and you don't either."

"I'm glad. I don't think I could be some kind of 40s housewife. I'd kill someone." Skye rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smiled when they laughed.

"God, no! We'd never ask you to, doll. It's not who you are." Bucky sounded horrified at the very idea.

"We'd never want you to try to be something you're not, Skye," Steve assured her.

"Good. I was never any good at being what other people wanted or expected."

Bucky snickered. "Somehow I can't imagine you even trying."

"I usually don't. I learned fairly young that it doesn't get me anywhere, so why bother." Skye shrugged, deliberately avoiding thoughts of all the short-term foster homes. It was all a long time ago anyway.

"Well, don't. We love you just the way you are, Skye. Irreverent, sassy and beautiful." Steve smiled and kissed her again. She melted against him and he held her close, savoring the feel of her in his arms.

When Skye pulled away, Bucky leaned in to kiss Steve as well. Skye licked her lips, still surprised by just how much seeing them kiss affected her. They looked amazing and gorgeous, wrapped up in each other and it always got her hot and bothered just watching them. As Bucky reeled her in for a kiss only a moment later, she began to wonder if it was finally time to give them the one thing she had left to give… herself.

"Make love to me," Skye whispered when her lips were free to move. "I want you, both of you. Please." Her eyes darted back and forth between her soulmates so she saw them both grin and nod. Bucky scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, following Steve who led the way and opened the door for them.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p>

**A/N: In deference to the site rules as well as the preferences of some of my regular readers, I will not be posting adult rated material here. If you would like to read beyond the fade-out, you can find me on Ao3 under the same username. Those chapters will be self-contained, but the chapter numbers will start to differ once I begin posting those.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Please note: I do not speak Russian. The exchange included in this chapter is courtesy of Google Translate. My apologies if it doesn't read the way I intended; I realize that relying on Google can be about as useful as having a phrase-book, sometimes less. If someone who speaks the language wants to send me a correction, I will fix it.**

**Edited to add: Many, many thanks to LenaAzarova for providing me with accurate Russian translations. :) I have updated the chapter for future readers.**

**Chapter 4**

None of them expected the change in their relationship to go unnoticed, but they hadn't expected immediate recognition either. When they stepped off the elevator to get dinner that evening, Natasha took one look at them and smirked.

"Она по-прежнему ходит прямо. Стареете?" she asked Bucky with a perfectly straight face. Bucky burst out laughing and shook his head.

"Никогда. Мы были осторожны. Не хотели ее спугнуть." Bucky smirked at her and led Skye over to pick out something to eat. But the exchange had caught Clint's attention as well, and he wolf-whistled at her as she walked by. Skye blushed to the roots of her hair at the attention and tried to focus on food.

Clint's whistle caught Tony's attention and when he saw Skye blush, Tony laughed. "Well, damn. It's about time!"

"Knock it off, guys," Steve quickly followed Skye and wrapped a comforting arm around her, shielding her from his team. "It's not like it's any of your business anyway."

"Relax, Cap. We're just happy for you, that's all," Clint said, holding his hands up in surrender.

Skye turned around and rolled her eyes. "Just because my soulmates are gentlemen enough to wait until I'm not having nightmares about my psycho Hydra stalker ex-boyfriend, or my murdering alien father or the fact that a crazy Nazi scientist killed my mother by cutting her to pieces to steal her power doesn't mean that you should make cracks when I finally get really comfortable with them," Skye snapped, her eyes flashing angrily. "I mean it's not like being exposed to an alien device that gave me powers is traumatizing or anything. But no, I should just forget all that the moment I meet my soulmates and let them sweep me off my feet, right? Because clearly my feelings and experiences aren't important compared to that." Skye scowled at the Avengers, who at least had the grace to look chastened.

"Woah, wait, we didn't mean…"

"But you did, didn't you?" Skye interrupted, not letting Tony make any excuses. "Just because you don't know what my reasons are doesn't mean I didn't have them." She sighed and set her plate down, empty. "You guys eat. I need some air." Skye stalked towards the balcony door, shaking her head when Steve started to follow her, and exited alone.

"Well, that could've gone better," Clint said with a sigh. "She's right, though. We should apologize when she comes back."

"If she comes back," Natasha agreed, her face impassive but her eyes dark.

"She'll come back," Bucky said quietly, making an effort to control his temper as he sat down with a plate full of food.

"I know she's really laid back and makes it easy to forget, but she came to us for help. Remember her words, 'I'm so scared' and 'please help me' and maybe it'll remind you to have a little respect," Steve said, his tone chilly. Bucky looked just as irritated as he filled his plate. Their serum-enhanced metabolisms required regular meals, and they knew Skye knew it. So they would eat while they gave her the space she needed.

_(Translations:_

_Она по-прежнему ходит прямо. Стареете? – "She's still walking straight. Lost your touch?"_

_Никогда. Мы были осторожны. Не хотели ее спугнуть. – "Never. We went easy on her. Don't want to scare her away.")_

* * *

><p>Skye stood on the balcony, looking out at the sunset as she clamped down on her emotions. Allowing her anger to run free would just start causing earthquakes, and the middle of New York City was definitely not a place to let that happen. She swiped her hands over her eyes, refusing to cry either. She was angry, not upset.<p>

She wasn't hungry anymore either, but she knew Steve would fuss if she didn't go back in and eat. Maybe she could just grab something and take it back downstairs. She figured that going back in would lead to awkward apologies that she didn't really want to hear. Possibly, she'd end up just as alienated from the Avengers as she had from her own team.

With a pang, Skye suddenly felt homesick for the Bus. She thought wistfully of a time when she had Fitzsimmons for a brother and sister, when AC was like her dad and even May began to soften towards her and they'd begun to bond. It wasn't that she regretted coming here and finding her soulmates; just the opposite, really. But why did it always seem that just as she got comfortable somewhere, everything went crazy?

"Hey, girl, you alright?" Skye turned towards the door and saw Sam in the doorway, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Yeah," she agreed softly, turning back to the view. "Just… angry. And missing having a family." She sighed softly as he moved to lean on the railing beside her. "I know I'll always have Steve and Bucky. I know I'll never really be alone again. But it seems like every time I think I find someplace that I can belong, something happens to wreck it."

"That won't happen here, Skye," Sam said, his tone confident.

"Won't it?" Her voice was bitter and fearful all at once.

"No, it really won't. Stark doesn't think before he opens his mouth, but it's been a while since he had to deal with anyone with real trauma. Ignore him, or rage at him if he deserves it."

"I kinda did," she answered with a sigh. "I didn't really mean to. It just kinda happened."

"Yeah, I heard. He feels really bad about it, too."

"He just made me so mad! I get that we're probably the biggest news in the tower since Steve found Bucky, but it's really none of his damned business how our relationship progresses."

"I know, Skye," Sam answered, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You had to wait until you felt safe. Until you were comfortable. I think Tony might be the only one in the building that doesn't get that without even thinking. We've all got our own pain; we just deal with it differently."

"I'm being a bitch, aren't I?" she asked wryly.

"Not at all. Nobody blames you, except maybe yourself."

"Do I really belong here, Sam? I mean, sure, no one argued with Steve and Bucky when they wanted me to stay. But that doesn't make me an Avenger."

"Trust me, girl. You belong here," Sam assured her.

"Thank you, Sam," Skye said softly. "It means a lot. You remind me of a friend I lost… he died in the incident where I gained my powers. I miss him."

"I couldn't ask for a better compliment. I can't be your old friend, but I'm here if you need me." Sam gave her a smile, full of friendship and concern.

"I know. Thank you."

"Ready to head back inside?"

Skye took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yeah. Staying out here won't help anything, and Steve will worry if I stay out too long."

Sam laughed. "He's already worried, but I'm sure he'll feel better if you can go back in there and smile for him." He led her to the door and opened it, holding it for her.

"I can try," she agreed before stepping inside. Steve and Bucky both turned instantly to see her return and she managed to smile for them. She walked over to the table and leaned in to kiss each of them. "Let me grab a plate and I'll be right back," she told them softly, smiling again. "I'll be okay, honest."

Tony followed her as she walked over to the kitchen to help herself to some dinner. "Listen, Skye… I'm sorry. You have every right to be angry, and your relationship is no one's business but your own. I know that doesn't make it right, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to be hurtful."

"I know," Skye answered quietly, glancing at him only briefly before returning her eyes to her plate. "Just… don't pick at our relationship, alright? Almost anything else I can take, but not that. It's hard."

"You've got it," Tony agreed immediately. "For whatever its worth, I'm glad you guys are happy together. I hope you never lose that."

Skye smiled a little and nodded. "Thanks." She finished making her selections and moved to the table. Bucky immediately scooted over to leave an empty seat between himself and Steve, which Skye gladly settled into. Neither of her soulmates said anything, but gentle touches from them reassured her of their acceptance. She knew they'd end up talking later, but it would be okay.

"My apologies too, Skye," Clint spoke up after Skye settled in at the table. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"I'll be okay," Skye answered after a moment, not quite ready to offer forgiveness. But Clint hadn't actually said anything, either. "Just don't do it again, please?"

"We won't," Natasha spoke for the both of them. Skye nodded her acceptance and focused on eating. Conversation started back up around the table after a little while of awkward silence, but Skye mostly tuned it out. She wasn't really all that hungry anymore, but she'd regret it if she didn't eat. She managed to finish what was on her plate and sat back to wait for her soulmates to finish their second helpings.

"Are you finished, Skye?" Steve asked softly.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm done."

"Okay," he answers, not pressing her. "Did you want to grab a snack for later?"

"Yeah, I probably should." Skye grabbed her plate and took it to the kitchen. She raided the snack cupboards and found a container of brownies. She also grabbed a couple of granola bars and some string cheese so she'd have something quasi-healthy if she needed it. "Night, everyone," she said to the rest of the room as she headed for the elevators with Steve and Bucky.

Once the elevator doors slid shut, Skye found herself wrapped in both her lovers' arms. She sighed softly and relaxed, snaking her arms around them as well. When they reached the guys' apartment, Steve took her snacks and stashed them in the kitchen for her while Bucky guided her to the couch. "Are you alright?" Bucky asked after Steve joined them again.

"I will be." She sighed.

"I didn't know you were having nightmares," Steve said softly. "I'm sorry, I hadn't realized."

Skye shook her head. "I've had them off and on for most of my life. My subconscious just has new material, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it, doll?"

"No, not really."

"You've been through a lot, Skye," Steve said gently. "It's not so strange that you're having a hard time dealing. Forget what Tony said; we understood. It's why we never wanted to push you for more than you were ready to share."

"I know that," she told them, looking up to meet first Steve's gaze, the Bucky's. "I guess I'm afraid to relax. I know you won't leave me, but I'm still afraid I could lose you. Every time I've ever gotten settled and actually started thinking I might belong somewhere, it blows up. I almost had a new family, and then this power got in the way. I guess on some level, I can't help but worry that this is all temporary."

"Never," Bucky swore as they each grabbed one of her hands. "If you go, we go with you. You're not going to lose us, Skye. We won't let it happen."

"You can't know that," she argued. Tears began to escape, slowly sliding down her face. "I have a psycho stalker ex that wouldn't have any problems killing you if it meant getting to me. Hydra's still a threat, and my crazy father is still out there somewhere because I couldn't pull the trigger. He would've killed Coulson if I hadn't threatened to shoot him if he did; I don't think he'd have a problem killing you, either."

"Nothing in life is certain, Skye." Steve wiped her tears away gently while he spoke. Bucky slipped an arm around her, holding her gently. "But we've survived this long. We had to, in order to find you. God has a way of working things out, love. Have faith; we'll make it through this."

"I'll try," she promised softly, sniffing a little. "It's just hard."

"Let's get you ready for bed, doll," Bucky offered gently. "Nothing has to happen; just let us chase your nightmares away for once."

Skye bit her lip, then nodded. "Alright. I'll stay."

"C'mon. You can borrow a t-shirt to sleep in. You'll be swimming in it anyway." Skye let them tug her to her feet and lead her into the bedroom. She took the t-shirt Bucky offered and let herself into the bathroom to change, suddenly feeling shy. They changed into clean shirts and sweatpants to sleep in while she was gone, mutually deciding that it was best to be as unassuming as possible. She emerged after a few moments, wearing Bucky's shirt and with her face scrubbed clean of tear-tracks.

"You look perfectly edible, doll," Bucky told her, unable to tear his eyes away. "I think I like seeing you in my clothes."

"Bucky!" Steve hissed reprovingly; he relaxed when Skye laughed quietly.

"It's okay, Stevie. I don't mind."

"Climb in, love," Steve invited, pulling back the covers for her. She climbed into the bed and settled in the middle as they bracketed her again. "Comfortable?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Sleep, then, doll. We'll be here if you need us."

She kissed them both gently, full of love and promise. "Thanks. I love you," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

"We love you too," the answered her in unison. Her smile was reward enough as they all settled in to sleep.

* * *

><p>When Skye started to toss restlessly, Bucky woke up first. He blinked sleepily until he heard her soft whimper and he immediately gathered her into his arms. "Shhh," he soothed her, whispering in her ear. "It's alright."<p>

It wasn't possible for him to whisper softly enough to keep Steve from hearing him, though. Steve woke first and shifted closer so they could cocoon Skye between their bodies again. Just as they thought that perhaps they'd soothed her back to sleep, her eyes flew open with a gasp. Feeling trapped, Skye began to struggle. "No, please, no," she said, pushing against them until her hand landed on Bucky's metal arm. Then she froze, blinking, and recognition dawned. "Oh, God, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright, doll. No harm done. We didn't mean to frighten you."

"We'd hoped you would just relax and sleep more peacefully," Steve added from behind her.

"While I appreciate the thought, I think I'd rather be awake right now."

"That bad?"

"I've had worse." Unconsciously, Skye rubbed her hand over the scars on her belly. Her lovers exchanged a glance over her head and Bucky's hand joined hers.

"Those are bullet scars, aren't they?" he asked gently. Skye nodded; it was pointless to deny, when they both knew what such wounds would look like. "Who shot you, Skye?" His voice was low, dangerous although not to her.

"A man named Ian Quinn. I'd just discovered his involvement in the Deathlok program," Skye told them with a sigh. "I was stupid and went in alone. Mike – Deathlok, I guess – wouldn't shoot me because those weren't his orders. But Quinn did. I almost died… would have, if not for AC."

"Coulson?" Bucky asked, curious.

"Yeah. He figured if SHIELD could bring him back from the dead, there must be a way for the same doctors to save my life too."

"How did they manage that?" Steve asked, genuinely curious if not a little concerned.

"An experimental drug treatment, ultimately of alien origin. We didn't find out until much later, but the program was originally administered by Coulson. They were trying to find a way to resurrect an Avenger, should one of you die. But the side-effects were too severe, and he ended up recommending that the program be discontinued. Apparently Fury didn't listen and wound up using it on AC when he was killed."

"Side effects?" Steve went from curious to concerned in a heartbeat. "What kind of side effects?"

Skye smiled gently. "You don't have to worry. I never exhibited them, probably because I'm only half human, and even my mother had a power. AC had them, and ultimately that led us to the Kree city where I got my power. And fought with my… with Cal. And Ward." She sighed. "Anyway, AC is alright now too. Once we found the city, the side effects went away."

"That's good, at least," Steve said quietly.

"Is this Quinn guy still alive?" Bucky's voice was an angry rumble, though he had kept quiet while listening to Skye.

"I don't know," she told him softly. "He was in the Fridge when Hydra raided the place. I haven't heard anything about him since."

"If we ever hear from him again, he's a dead man," Bucky promised.

"No, Bucky, you can't." Skye rolled them so she rested on top of him, staring down into his eyes. She was under no illusion that she could keep him there; she just wanted to make sure he was paying attention to her. "If he comes back and becomes a threat again, we'll deal with him. But you can't just kill him for revenge. It's _wrong_. Much though I might like to put a bullet in him myself, we can't. Otherwise we're no better than them."

Bucky growled, but nodded. "Fine. But if he comes after you again…"

"We'll deal with it if it happens."

Bucky nodded, staring up at her fiercely. When she smiled, he tangled his fingers into her hair and pulled her down for a kiss. Then she felt Steve move closer and begin caressing her hip through her t-shirt, and Skye gave in.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thanks as always to Ozhawk for betaing and brainstorming. Also, thank you to everyone who has faved/followed/reviewed. I really appreciate everyone's comments!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5<span>**

Steve woke first in the morning, as usual. He rolled over to check on his soulmates and couldn't help but smile. Moving slowly, silently, he got up and grabbed his sketchbook. He spent almost an hour, contently drawing his soulmates sleeping curled together.

Bucky woke next, accustomed to waking early so he and Steve could go for their usual run. He couldn't help but smile when he realized that Skye had cuddled close in her sleep. He placed a gentle kiss on her head before carefully disentangling their limbs and sliding out of bed. He grabbed clothes and took them out of the room with him so as to not wake Skye. He joined Steve and the two went to grab a quick bite and collect Sam before going out.

When Skye finally woke up, she was more than a little disoriented at first. She stretched and opened her eyes to a mostly unfamiliar room. "Where am I?"

"You are in the Rogers/Barnes apartment, Miss Skye," JARVIS replied, the AI assuming it was being addressed as she was alone.

"Good morning JARVIS," she greeted, finally remembering the night before. She didn't remember anything beyond their midnight bath and figured her soulmates must have worn her out so completely that she hadn't woken when they brought her to bed. "Is there coffee?"

"Of course."

"Cool, thanks." Skye got out of bed and rummaged in the closet for something to wear. She settled on a large button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up as being sufficient decency to get her back to her room for clean clothes. She padded barefoot into the kitchen for her morning dose of caffeine.

She had just poured herself a second cup and settled down with her laptop when JARVIS spoke up again. "Pardon me, Miss Skye, but Miss Potts and Miss Romanoff would like to come up and see you. Shall I allow it?"

"Sure. Oh, wait… I'm not really dressed for company."

"Miss Romanoff says to let you know that they have that covered."

"Okay, as long as they've been warned. You might want to let Steve and Bucky know there's company, if they get back while Pepper and Natasha are here."

"Very well, Miss," JARVIS agreed as the elevator doors opened.

"Good morning, Скай," Natasha said with a smile as she entered the apartment. Skye smiled in return, used to the translation of her name into Russian. She caught the bag Natasha tossed her as Pepper followed.

"Good morning, Skye," Pepper said warmly.

"Good morning, Pepper. There's coffee if either of you would like some." Natasha helped herself to coffee, but Pepper declined politely. "So, what's up?" Skye asked curiously.

"We came up to take you shopping," Pepper said in a tone that indicated she wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Shopping? Why?"

"Because Stark is doing what he usually does when he feels bad about something: he's spending money," Natasha said as she joined Skye at the table.

"Tony got a reservation for you, Steve and Bucky at an exclusive club that's really an old style supper club. Dinner and dancing," Pepper explained. "And since we all know that you've been living in jeans since you got here, we thought we could all have fun finding you something appropriate to wear."

"This isn't necessary, you know. It's not going to change anything."

"We know that, Skye," Pepper said gently. "And ultimately, Tony behaving like an ass only made it happen sooner. We just want you three to be happy."

"Part of the big ol' Avengers family, huh?" Skye asked with a laugh. "Alright, I give. I bet Steve will love it, anyway. Bucky may, too. And I can't remember the last time I got taken out for dinner."

"Really?" Natasha frowned.

"You know, come to think of it, you've barely left the Tower since you got here," Pepper said thoughtfully.

"That's totally about to change," Natasha said with a smirk.

With a shake of her head, Skye frowned. "If you're going to try to intimidate them into taking me out more, I won't go. I don't want anything from them that has to be coerced."

Natasha only laughed. "Do you think I really could scare the two of them? No, that wasn't my intention. Sometimes men just need a little reminder that there's more to life than saving the world."

"Though yours are better than most," Pepper agreed. "Must be the forties mindset."

Skye chuckled. "Okay. Well, let me go get dressed and then we can go." She took the bag into the bedroom and emerged a few minutes later in blue jeans, a black blouse and a black jacket that was warmer than she expected from the weight. Her hair was pulled back into a simple braid.

"You look great, Skye," Pepper said warmly. "Happy, too. I hope you never lose that."

"Thanks, Pepper," Skye answered, smiling a little. "JARVIS, are the guys back from their run yet?"

"No, Miss Skye, not yet."

"When they get back, will you tell them I've gone out with Natasha and Pepper, please?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." She turned smiled at her friends. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p>Steve was half expecting Skye to still be in bed when he and Bucky returned. They had stopped upstairs for some juice and wound up staying for breakfast when no one else was there to be bothered by the fact that they needed showers after their exercise. But the apartment was empty when they stepped off the elevator.<p>

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers?"

"Did Skye go down to her apartment?"

"No, sir. Miss Romanoff and Miss Potts came to take Miss Skye shopping. Mr. Stark also asked if you would stop by the labs when you have a moment."

Steve and Bucky exchanged a glance and then both shrugged. "Thanks, JARVIS. Both of us or just me?"

"I believe you would both be welcome, Captain."

"Alright. Thanks."

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later, both showered and dressed – after a shared shower that consisted of little more than heated kisses, a few caresses and the realization that they missed Skye already – Bucky and Steve stepped out of the elevator on the main working level. This level consisted of labs for Tony's projects other than his suits – the suits were on a level of their own – and Bruce, as well as work space for Jane Foster, Thor's lady, when she visited. The two men made their way towards Tony's lab and asked JARVIS to announce their arrival.<p>

"Good morning Cap, Bucky," Tony greeted them.

"Good morning Tony," Steve replied, while Bucky just nodded. "We were told you wanted to talk with us?"

"Yeah, thanks. Have a seat," Tony said as he waved them towards chairs and then shoved his hands into his pockets. "I wanted to do something nice for you guys and Skye. So I talked to Pepper and we arranged an evening out for you three. There's a little place, fairly exclusive, that does old style dinner and dancing, live music, that sort of stuff. We thought you'd enjoy it, and it'd be a safe place for you to take Skye out. So… we got you a reservation for seven tonight."

Bucky looked at Steve, taking in the startled expression on his soulmate's face, and chuckled. "Well, now we know why the ladies took our girl shopping. She didn't exactly come here with a bunch of dresses."

Steve blinked at Bucky, and then a slow smile spread across his face. "That's a sight worth waiting for," he agreed. Then he returned his attention to Tony. "Thank you. I'm sure we'll all enjoy an evening out."

Tony nodded, smiling. "I hope so. I'll have a car waiting for you at quarter after six and it'll wait for you, however long. I know you guys don't really get drunk, but I wanted you to be able to just relax and enjoy."

Bucky nodded. "Thank you, Stark. We really do appreciate it."

Tony grinned acceptance and then turned back to his project, knowing the super-soldiers would see themselves out.

* * *

><p>When Skye, Pepper and Natasha returned to the tower they headed for Skye's apartment rather than Steve and Bucky's. "They are not allowed on this floor until I say so," Pepper instructed JARVIS in a firm tone.<p>

"Understood, Miss Potts," the AI replied.

It was nearly 5:00 when they returned, but Skye wasn't worried. They had only taken a couple of hours to find a dress, but their trip hadn't ended there. "First dates are important, even if they're your soulmates," Pepper insisted. So they'd gone next to a salon. Pepper insisted on spoiling them all with manicures and facials; Skye also had her hair and makeup done for her. While she usually preferred to take care of herself, Skye privately admitted that it was rather fun to be dolled up in a way that she could never have hoped to achieve on her own. Her hair was up in an elegant twist, with curling tendrils framing her face and her bangs gently swept to one side with crystal-studded pins. Her eyes looked larger than usual, and brighter, with a hint of smokiness that definitely drew attention.

All that was left now was to get into her dress, with Pepper and Natasha to help make sure she didn't damage her hair in any way. Natasha laid the dress bag out on the bed and unwrapped it carefully while Pepper opened the bag with stockings, shoes and other accessories.

"I really can't thank you enough," Skye said again as she undressed as far as her underwear; after months of living on a base or in a plane, she wasn't particularly shy as long as she wasn't entirely naked. "You didn't have to do all this."

"I know, but it was fun," Pepper turned with a smile. "What good is having a fortune if I can't spend part of it on my friends?"

"You've had a tough time," Natasha added sympathetically. "Taking one evening to enjoy yourself isn't going to hurt anything."

Skye looked at the petite assassin with surprised eyes. "Uh huh. How long did it take YOU to accept that? I know my information is limited, but you've definitely been through worse than I have."

"A while," Natasha agreed with a smirk. "But that's why I wanted to help you get it sooner."

Skye laughed. "I get that. Alright, fine, let's do this thing."

A short time later, Skye was dressed in a deep blue cocktail dress. The sweetheart neckline showed off a modest amount of cleavage before tapering down to a fitted bodice, glimpses of skin were visible as straps criss-crossed down her back to her waistline where just a hint of her soul mark showed if a viewer was paying close attention. The three-quarter length sleeves were just as fitted as the bodice, and the skirt flared at her hips into a full skirt that stopped just above the knee. A silver belt accented her waist and a silver chain dangled a small sapphire pendant just above her cleavage. Sapphire drop earrings completed the look, and deep blue heels were just a shade darker than the dress.

"You look amazing, Skye," Pepper said softly, pushing her towards the mirror to have a look. "I can't wait to see your boys arrive; they'll be so surprised."

"I can't look that different, can I?" Skye asked sarcastically as she headed to the full-length mirror on the closet door. Her expression changed completely as she took in her appearance. "Okay, well, maybe I can…"

"It's perfect," Natasha assured her. "Classic enough for them to appreciate, and modern enough to still be _you_. And it really is a great color."

"Is it going to be too much?"

"Not at all," Pepper promised. "You won't look out of place; if you attract attention, it will just be because you're gorgeous."

"Or because I'm with a couple of gorgeous super-soldiers," Skye answered, laughing. "I'll be the envy of the club if anyone recognizes them."

"You'll get used to it," Pepper laughed. "Eventually they'll start to recognize you, too."

Skye nodded. "Well, I think I'm set. Should we let the guys down?"

"I think we can do that. JARVIS, when Steve and Bucky are ready to come down they may do so."

"They have already asked, Miss Potts. I will inform them."

Only moments later, the three women heard the elevator doors open. Natasha and Pepper went to meet them first, mostly so they could watch as Skye made her entrance. It was everything they expected; when Skye emerged from the bedroom, at first neither man spoke. Steve's expression was full of admiration and awe, while Bucky's eyes darkened with desire as they skimmed over her.

Skye smiled and stopped just outside of arm's reach of her soulmates, her eyes bright as she took in perfectly tailored suits and neatly combed hair. Steve's shirt was gray and Bucky's was light blue, quietly complimenting her own clothing. "Hey," she greeted them softly. "You guys look great."

"Not as great as you," Bucky quipped, finding his voice first and stepping in for a kiss.

"You look beautiful, Skye," Steve said quietly, pulling her in for a kiss of his own.

"Off you go," Pepper commented, shooing them towards the elevator with an amused smile. "You don't want to be late."

Skye looked over at her friends and grinned when Natasha winked and flashed her a glimpse of the phone held in the spy's hand. Skye knew she'd get to keep a copy of whatever photos Natasha had snuck of the guys, and she looked forward to it. In the meantime, Skye hooked a hand into each of her soulmates' arms and tugged them towards the elevator at Pepper's urging.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thanks again to everyone who has sent messages, left reviews or otherwise commented/favorited this story. I really appreciate the support! And thanks as always to Ozhawk for beta reading.

**This chapter has been edited; thanks to LenaAzarova for providing me with accurate Russian.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 6<span>**

The drive to the restaurant really did take nearly 45 minutes. Skye entertained her soulmates by telling them about shopping with Pepper and Natasha; it had been more of an adventure than she'd expected, as both women had rather different taste in clothes and stores. Skye joked that it was a good thing she was opinionated, or else she might have been railroaded into getting a dress more to one of their taste than her own. She had eventually gone with Natasha's opinion of color and allowed Pepper to influence the style; Skye couldn't picture herself in one of the slinky, seductive dresses that Tasha preferred, though she kept that particular thought to herself.

"I think you made the perfect choice for you, then," Steve told her, agreeing inwardly that Natasha's taste in dresses could be flashy enough to make them all uncomfortable. "You look gorgeous, kitten."

Skye smiled and thanked him softly. "You two look pretty gorgeous, too. I think there are gonna be a lot of envious women at this restaurant tonight."

Bucky laughed. "Probably. Especially when we get you out on the dance floor."

"Um, well…" Skye hesitated, then shrugged. "I don't really know how to dance. I mean, if there are set steps or anything, I don't know them."

Steve just smiled. "It's okay. All you have to do is follow our lead. Both Buck and I used to do enough dancing; we'll make sure you know enough to look like a lady."

"You don't have to worry about a thing, doll," Bucky assured her. "You're graceful enough at Tai Chi; you'll take to dancing just fine."

Skye nodded. "Okay. I'll give it a try."

When they arrived at the restaurant, it was everything Tony had promised. The hostess and security waited in an entry lounge and made certain everyone allowed inside was either a member or had a specific reservation, as in their case, courtesy of a member. They were then escorted into a dining area set up to look like a collection of seating nooks surrounding a central dance floor. The lighting was dim, the tables separate enough to give everyone a feeling of privacy.

There couldn't be more than thirty guests seated in various parts of the restaurant, and Skye decided she rather liked it. She let her soulmates settle her into her seat before they sat as well, and they all took a few quiet moments to study the menu.

Dinner passed pleasantly, with light conversation and plenty of laughter. They were all relaxed, which made Skye happy. She hadn't enjoyed an evening this much since before Puerto Rico. Several members of the Avengers could be playful and there was usually plenty of banter over mealtimes, but Skye didn't always feel like she was really part of it, yet. It was still all too new for her to trust in it yet. But here she could relax.

They had ordered dessert but it hadn't arrived yet when Steve asked Skye to dance. She glanced at Bucky but he grinned and nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for dessert, doll. Go let Steve show you the basics."

"Okay," Skye agreed and hesitantly followed Steve down the two steps to the polished wood dance floor. Bucky leaned casually on the railing and watched them, appreciating Skye's grace as Steve slowly taught her the step-step-rock-step that was the very basis of most swing beats. She did pick up the simple step quickly and soon was comfortable enough with Steve leading for him to twirl her around the floor.

"If you're feeling like a third wheel, I'd be happy to dance with you," came a soft voice from just behind Bucky.

Startled, he turned to look. The voice belonged to a slim woman with golden blonde hair and dark eyes – though neither as dark nor as alluring as Skye's. She had a pretty enough smile, but she seemed more calculating than Bucky was comfortable with. Still, that was no reason to be rude. "I'm just enjoying the view," he demurred as he turned back to watch his soulmates.

"I see. I'm Christine, and I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a little, hmm, abandoned over here."

Bucky chuckled and watched her expression turn startled as she moved alongside him. "Not in the least," he said, still chuckling. "I'll let him teach her the basics and then I'll take my turn when she's more relaxed and I can show her off."

Christine turned to watch the dance floor as well, making note of Steve teaching Skye another set of steps as the music changed. "Well, if you're sure. I don't suppose I could tempt you into a dance in the meantime?" she asked with a sideways glance and a coy smile.

Bucky went quiet for a moment, then turned to her with serious eyes. "You're lovely, Christine, and under other circumstances I would be happy to dance with you. But I have the two most amazing soulmates anyone could ask for, and I have no interest beyond them." Bucky glanced back to the dancers just in time to catch Skye's sad eyes. He frowned for a moment as she turned away. "If you will excuse me," he said to Christine, "I have a lovely lady to reassure. Have a good night, ma'am."

For a while, Skye was so caught up in Steve's instructions that she couldn't pay attention to anything else. But as she began to relax, Steve twirled her around and she caught sight of Bucky with a gorgeous blonde woman. She noticed the tell-tale signs of a woman flirting and only sighed. She knew she couldn't hold it against him; either of them, really. They were gorgeous, and women noticed anytime either of her soulmates smiled.

It wasn't that she didn't believe they loved her; far from it. Just that it was still far too easy to believe that she couldn't keep anything good in her life.

Steve noticed right away when Skye tensed in his arms. He looked down into her eyes, catching the sadness in their depths and pulled her close. But before he could ask what was wrong, Bucky was there with an arm around her waist and a kiss to her cheek.

"Let me cut in for a minute, punk," he said quietly to Steve. His voice was serious, despite the teasing nickname and Steve only nodded.

"Alright. I think I see dessert arriving anyway." Steve gave Skye over into Bucky's arms and headed off the dance floor. He caught sight of a slim figure and a glimpse of golden waves near their table, but there was no one there when he reached his chair and he shrugged.

Bucky held Skye closely, picking up the rhythm of the music automatically and she followed him readily enough. "I love you, Skye," he murmured into her ear as they danced quietly.

"I know. Who is she?"

"Dunno, doll. Some girl looking for a new conquest, I'd guess. But I told her I wasn't interested."

"Really?" She looked up at him, wanting to believe it.

"Of course. I told her I had the most amazing soulmates in the world and I don't need anything more."

Skye smiled and it lit up her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him. "I think that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said about me. Thank you."

"It's nothin' but the truth. I could never want another woman in my life, only you. And I know Stevie's the same."

"I have more than I could've ever asked for in you two," Skye told him quietly. "I love you, too, both of you."

"I know." Bucky grinned. "Let's go have dessert, doll. And afterwards, I can show you how to show off on the dance floor."

Skye laughed. "You're on!"

They smiled at Steve as they returned to their table to enjoy dessert. Steve relaxed, knowing that whatever had bothered Skye was resolved. He didn't ask; he was sure they'd tell him about it later, if he needed to know. He was content to enjoy the rest of the evening with his soulmates.

* * *

><p>It was very late when the trio returned to the Tower. Skye went with her soulmates to their apartment, unable to refuse their pleading looks when they asked her to join them for one more drink. While Steve headed to the kitchen for a bottle of wine, Skye and Bucky discovered three folded pieces of paper on the coffee table, one with each of their names. They looked at each other and then shrugged.<p>

"Hey, Steve," Skye called. "You've gotta see something."

Steve came into the room with the wine bottle in one hand and three glasses in the other; he had been just about to pour when he heard her call. "What is it, kitten?"

She gestured to the notes on the table. "I think we might need better locks when we're not around," she said teasingly. She picked up the one with her name on it and proceeded to unfold and read it.

_Skye,_

_Hope you had fun. Clean clothes for you in the bedroom, just in case. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Don't do some of the things I might do. But make your own choices. It's your life._

_Natasha_

Skye smiled and folded the paper again. She looked up to see her soulmates watching her. "Natasha. She basically said to have fun."

Steve blinked. "Why would she leave a note just to say that?"

Skye shrugged. "Read yours and see what else she says?" She watched as both Steve and Bucky grabbed their notes and opened them.

Steve began to chuckle over his.

_Steve,_

_I left some stuff for Skye. Figured the notes would keep you from panicking about security. Remember that it's not the forties anymore._

_Natasha_

Bucky also laughed at his, which was in Russian.

_Bucky,_

_Если она будет в состоянии тренироваться утром, я начну сомневаться в твоих словах._

_Наташа_

(translation: "If she's not too tired to work out in the morning, I'm going to start doubting your stories.")

"So, anything worth sharing?" Skye asked. Steve handed her his note and she laughed too as she handed it over to Bucky. "Well, okay then. What about yours?"

"It's in Russian, doll," Bucky told her. "She says she's going to start doubting my stories if you're not too tired to work out tomorrow."

"Stories?"

"Yeah," Bucky said gently. "I knew Natasha a long time ago, when she was called Natalia and I was an asset on loan to Russia from Germany. There was a period of time when I kept my memories a little longer than usual, and the Russians didn't care so much what I did with my downtime."

Skye nodded. "I understand," she said, pulling him close. "It was a long time ago, well before I was born. It wouldn't be fair for me to hold it against you if I didn't even exist yet."

He held her close, smiling into her hair. "This is just one example of why you're so perfect for us, doll. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said softly as she leaned in to kiss him.

Steve leaned in to embrace them both as they kissed. "Stay with us, Skye? I… we don't want you to go."

Skye turned to look up at Steve with a bright smile, finding it sweet that he asked when others might have been more demanding. Without another word, she took their hands in hers and backed towards the bedroom door. Steve would remember later that she never looked away from them, trusting them entirely to guide her as she blindly walked backwards.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p>

**A/N: **The adult-content chapters are still only being posted at AO3. There's a link to my page in my profile here if you want to read them. If you prefer not to, this version will be skipping those chapters.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Skye woke up the next morning to the strange sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door. She was alone, but that wasn't unusual; she wasn't entirely sure what it would be like to wake up with her soul mates still in bed with her. Sleeping in company at all was going to take some getting used to. Still, the knocking was strange.

"Who's there?"

"It's Pepper," came the reply. Strangely, it wasn't JARVIS responding. Skye was used to the AI waking her up from time to time with messages, or to ask if someone could be allowed in. That hadn't happened this time, and it struck Skye as definitely odd. Especially since this floor didn't have a public hallway like the guest suites did.

"One sec while I get dressed." Skye sighed softly to herself and dragged herself out of bed. She slipped into the bathroom for a quick wash-up and then found herself clean clothes. She emerged from the bedroom to find not just Pepper waiting for her, but Tony and Natasha as well. "What's going on?" she asked as Pepper handed her a steaming mug of coffee.

"Take a look," Natasha told her, handing over the morning's issue of "Vanity Fair" which featured a photo of Steve, Bucky and Skye on the cover. It was obviously from last night, as Skye recognized the dress immediately. The photo featured herself and Bucky in profile, with her looking up at him and Steve standing behind them and holding them both. Skye's eyes went wide as she took in the headline, "Captain America Finds Soulmates?"

"Oh, shit," Skye sank into a chair and quickly flipped open the magazine to find the article. She skimmed it quickly. She noted several other photos, mostly taken while they were dancing, and one of them was at the right angle to catch a glimpse of her soul mark; Skye couldn't help but appreciate how good they all looked together before reminding herself that wasn't the point. "I thought you guys said the club was exclusive and reporters weren't allowed?"

Tony grimaced. "It's supposed to be, and trust me sweetheart, they will be hearing from us as soon as they open. That particular reporter has a rather serious hate on for me."

Skye took a deep breath and set down the magazine; the article was full of speculation. Captain America was known to have a soulmark; Skye's words were on his forearm and though he seldom allowed others close enough to read them, everyone knew what a soulmark looked like. The article pointed out that three-way soul bonds were not common, but also not uncommon. Speculation on her identity was rampant through the article, and the reporter had pointed out that "the other mysterious man" could have passed for Bucky Barnes without even trying – though it was known that Barnes had died without offspring, so perhaps he was a cousin of some sort?

"Okay. So what do we do? The article is full of questions, but they don't have a lot of answers yet," Skye asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I noticed that she isn't as harsh as she usually is with Tony," Natasha said thoughtfully. "Probably because she'd lose a lot of her readership if she started dragging Cap's name through the mud."

Pepper smiled. "You're probably right, Natasha. Tony's been through plenty of scandal, so she has a little more freedom there. But there's only so much you can say about Steve before people get angry."

Skye sighed. "Still. There are some people that really didn't need to know that I'm in New York. The article doesn't need to say my name; the pictures will do enough."

"Hey, you're safe here," Pepper said reassuringly. "You live in a building with seven resident superheros, including yourself."

"It's not being in the building that I'm worried about," Skye assured her. "But I can't stay in here forever. I won't be Rapunzel." Her expression turned fiercely determined.

Natasha smirked. "No one's asking you too, Скай. I promise."

"We wouldn't dream of trying to hide you away," Pepper added.

"Besides, what kind of superhero can't show up in public?" Tony quipped, attempting to lighten the mood. "Sooner or later, someone would recognize you."

Skye's eyes softened and she nodded. "I've been through too much to let one reporter make me change my life now. So I guess we keep on with superheroing?"

"Then I guess we'd better focus on continuing your ops training as well as honing your control of your power," Natasha said calmly; her eyes glinted with approval. Skye would need all her strength and determination, but Natasha believed she had it in her to overcome this.

Skye nodded, her expression firming. "Alright. Let me grab something quick to eat and I'll meet you in the gym."

Natasha nodded and Skye went to the apartment fridge to pull out a yogurt and ate it while she waited for a slice of bread to toast. Tony and Pepper wished them a good day and left, with Pepper promising again to have someone contact the club's management.

Natasha was still in her chair when Steve and Bucky returned. It didn't take long for either man to notice the tension in the room.

"What happened?" Steve asked, looking right at Skye.

"I'll let her explain," Natasha said as she got to her feet. "Thirty minutes, Скай. I'll be upstairs."

Skye swore at Natasha in Cantonese, one of the few phrases she'd picked up from May. Tasha just grinned and let herself into the elevator.

"Skye?" Bucky asked, his voice laced with concern.

Skye picked up the magazine and handed it to him silently before returning to the kitchen to save her toast from burning. She slathered on butter and jam before returning her attention to her soulmates.

Steve was skimming the article quietly, but Bucky looked furious. "Christine," he growled. "That's the name the woman gave me when she hit on me."

"How could you know she was a reporter?" Skye asked gently. She downed her toast quickly and then moved to stand beside him.

"I knew she couldn't recognize me. I'm anonymous, at least mostly. Bucky Barnes is supposed to be dead. But I didn't think about either of you being recognized."

"She speculates about Skye's identity just as much as yours, Buck," Steve answered absently as he continued reading. "It's really only me that got identified."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I like the idea of being known as 'Captain America's soulmate' to the public," Skye said with a sigh. "No offense, Stevie; you know I love you," she added to stave off any possible hurt feelings. "I just feel like this thing is painting a giant target on my back. I'm recognizable in these pictures, and there are at least two people out there that I'd rather didn't know I'm living in New York. Not to mention all the multitudes of women who would love to be me right now."

"Maybe we shouldn't have gone out," Steve said with a sigh of his own. He wrapped an arm around Skye and pulled her close as he dropped the magazine on the table.

Skye shook her head. "No, don't say that. I enjoyed it. We shouldn't let people like this stop us from enjoying our lives. I guess I just would've preferred to stay anonymous a little longer."

"So, what do we do?"

"Well, Natasha is planning on stepping up my training. Just in case. Later on I'll get back onto scanning the 'net for possible trouble. We'll just have to be careful."

"We may need to be prepared for the fallout if people recognize me, though," Bucky said quietly. "SHIELD never had much on the Winter Soldier, but what they had did hit the public. There could be trouble."

"We'll deal with it if it happens," Steve promised. He and Skye together pulled Bucky into their arms and the three huddled together safely for several long moments.

"I'd better get changed and get upstairs before Natasha comes looking for me," Skye said finally as she pulled gently away. "I'll see you at lunch, unless you come upstairs sooner." With a quick kiss for each of them, Skye headed for the elevator wondering if she should just bring up her workout clothes.

* * *

><p><em>Elsewhere…<em>

Grant Ward frowned at the magazine in his hand. He normally didn't go in for rubbish like "Vanity Fair" but he had to know why Skye was featured on the cover. He gritted his teeth as he read the article full of speculation; he doubted much of it was right, but there was one thing he did know. Skye had two soulmarks, and one of them referred to her as "doll." Nobody spoke like that anymore… except for Steve Rogers. And possibly the Winter Soldier, if he was from the same era; Ward recognized the other man from sketchy SHIELD photos over the years as well as information in HYDRA's databases.

"No," he said aloud to himself. "She's mine." But how to get her away from the Avengers? It was so much easier to tempt her away from Coulson's team; Coulson couldn't say no to Skye when she wanted something.

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to get help. HYDRA's current commander was dabbling with enhanced humans on a different path than Whitehall and Centipede. Perhaps he would be interested in a girl who wasn't fully human. Agent 33 had told him she saw Coulson and Skye emerging from the tunnel into the Kree city as the earthquakes were stopping; Ward knew something had to have happened to her down there, but she didn't look any different in the magazine photos.

Ward picked up his cell phone and dialed a number from memory. When the line connected he said, "I need a meeting with the Baron. I think I can get him a new subject for his studies."

* * *

><p>TBC...<p>

Sorry for the short chapter, but there was just not a better place to break!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Many thanks to all the new reviewers, and to everyone who continues to leave comments and feedback. It's greatly appreciated. Yes, there is a chapter-number discrepancy between here and the AO3 posting; it's because I'm not posting adult-only explicit content here on . If you enjoy such things, please skip on over to AO3 to read them. This version will not contain those chapters at any point.

To my Guest reviewer: Yes. Yes, he is a creep. In a major way.

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 8<span>**

"Skye, darlin', put that thing down and come eat dinner," Clint called across the dining room that evening.

The young hacker was working on her laptop at a small table by the window. She didn't even look up, just kept typing. "In a minute."

"You said that five minutes ago, sweetheart," Tony reminded her.

"Not that you're one to talk, Tony," Pepper commented dryly. Tony only shrugged and laughed.

"I can't stop now; if I do, I'll lose this and have to start again." Skye worked quickly, just barely keeping ahead of the system trying to block her access.

Rather than trying to interrupt again, Steve just asked the chef to make her a sandwich with the roast he was currently carving; he smiled and assured the man that she'd have a proper meal as soon as she could stop. When it was ready, Steve took the plate and set it next to Skye's keyboard. "Here, love. Don't ignore your body completely, okay?"

Skye spared him a brief glance and smiled. "Thank you." She picked up a piece of the sandwich, neatly cut into quarters for easy eating, and took a big bite. Her other hand flew across the keyboard, never stopping. Steve kissed the top of her head and then joined the group at the main table.

"Almost there. Come on, just a little more. JARVIS, be ready to start that download as soon as I have access. I don't think we'll be able to keep the connection for long," Skye instructed quietly, knowing the AI would hear her.

"Of course, Miss Skye," it replied.

"JARVIS, what's she doing?" Tony asked, curious but unwilling to risk Skye's ire by interrupting her.

"Miss Skye has found an access point into a secure location with the earmarks of a HYDRA base. She is attempting to get in and copy their information as per Director Coulson's request.""

"Anything we can do to help?"

"I believe that at this point, Sir, Miss Skye's expertise outstrips our own and she should be allowed to proceed without interference."

"Wow," Clint snickered. "I think you've just been told to butt out in the politest way possible, Stark." That got a chuckle out of everyone at the table, including Tony.

"Got it! JARVIS, now!" Skye exclaimed triumphantly fifteen minutes later. "Okay, if you get through the download without getting blocked, then run the Mimic protocol and close everything up again. If your access starts to get blocked early, run Cleanup instead and get the hell out before they find us."

"Yes, Miss Skye,"

Leaving her laptop running, Skye picked up her plate and took it over to the main table. Her sandwich was over half gone, and Steve smiled at her.

"What did you find?" Natasha asked curiously.

"Definitely looks like HYDRA. Seems that Whitehall wasn't the only one experimenting on human enhancement," Skye answered with a scowl. "I'll know more when we get a chance to look at the files."

"You've just got JARVIS copying the files here?"

"No, they're going to a secure server for AC too."

Natasha and Tony exchanged a glance. "Is that smart?"

"Maybe not," Skye answered with a shrug. "But it was his lead; he only sent it to me because no one on his team could hack it. Technically I shouldn't be copying it for us, but I'm pretty sure AC knew I would anyway."

Skye finished her sandwich and then got up for a more complete meal. She quietly thanked the chef for being so accommodating as well. She had a second, smaller helping of the roast, and a larger serving of the accompanying veggies when she sat back down.

"You eat a lot, for such a little thing," Tony teased when she sat back down. Skye only stuck her tongue out at him and tucked in.

Everyone laughed again, amused. "Her metabolism hasn't adjusted to her power, yet," Bruce explained finally. "The energy fuelling her power has to come from somewhere."

"Unfortunately, photosynthesis didn't come with the shake-the-earth power," Skye quipped and everyone grinned or laughed.

"Speaking of earth-shaking, how goes the training?" Clint asked when they calmed again.

"Not bad," Skye answered easily. "I don't have to be scared or angry anymore to make it happen. Stopping it when I am angry is still a challenge. It does look like I can send vibrations through other things, though. It doesn't have to be the earth."

"Really? What else have you tried?"

"Concrete posts. Metal beams. That sort of thing. Side benefit; if I'm shaking something I'm standing on, I don't fall off."

"Now that IS handy!" Clint agreed. "Means that if you needed to shake a catwalk you were standing on, other people would fall but you wouldn't."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, if it crumbles underneath me, I still fall. So no shaking buildings while I'm on the roof."

"Can you send your vibrations through a person?" Natasha asked, her tone thoughtful.

"I haven't tried," Skye answered honestly. "It might be something to experiment with if I'm in a hostile situation, but I'm not willing to try it on a friend. It could kill someone."

"No one's asking you to experiment on us, doll," Bucky assured her, resting a hand on her arm. "I think enough of us have had our lifetimes' worth of that already. Just keep it in mind in an emergency, yeah?"

Skye nodded, looking at her soulmate with relief in her eyes. "Yeah, okay. I will."

Everyone lingered, chatting while Skye finished her meal and Bucky went back for seconds. Everyone cleared away their own dishes for the kitchen staff to wash, but Bucky took Skye's with him when he got up with his own. She hadn't been finished long when her laptop beeped; JARVIS spoke up at the same time. "Pardon me, Miss Skye, but the copy is complete. Would you like to view it while Mimic is running?"

"Yes, please," Skye answered, getting up and heading for her computer.

"What is Mimic?" Tony asked, a little startled that his AI was initiating protocols he was unfamiliar with.

"It's a worm that goes through and changes key words in their data," Skye answered absently as she started skimming the files. "If we deleted it, they'd restore from backups pretty fast, I'd imagine. But if we just start changing things in small ways, it could screw them up for quite a while before they realize and go back to their archives. The theory is that they lose more productivity that way."

Everyone in the room paused and stared at her, taken by surprise. "That's unbelievably sneaky," Natasha said finally. "I approve."

Skye slanted a glance at her and winked. "I'm glad you appreciate it. I thought it might be worth a try, if I had a chance." She tapped at the keyboard a few more times. "There. That'll work its way through their files. Time to get the heck out before we trip… something." Trying not to think about what she'd just said or how her voice faltered for a moment, she started typing again to erase traces of her tampering.

"We are free of their systems, Miss Skye," JARVIS confirmed as she finished her work. "Beginning data analysis."

Skye sighed. "This is going to take a while to sift through. Nothing is conveniently labelled; it's mostly numeric IDs and project codes. Oh, well. This is what SHIELD pays me for." She settled back into her chair and started a program running to data-mine for keywords.

"Skye, sweetheart, you don't have to do any of this yourself," Tony said as he moved to stand beside her. "JARVIS can run all your data searches for you and just alert you when something comes up. And seriously, you don't _need_ SHIELD to pay you anymore. Whatever you need, I've got you covered. No worries."

Skye sat back in her chair and looked up at Tony. "I know you would cover whatever I need or even if just wanted something," Skye said quietly, her eyes dark with shuttered emotion. "But I can't… I can't lean on that. Not yet, maybe not ever."

Tony looked like he was about to object when Clint came over and joined them. "Hey, it's okay," he said, his tone quietly understanding. "No one is going to try to take your independence, Skye. You said once that you grew up in foster care, yeah?" Skye nodded, and Clint smiled grimly. "Spent a few years there, myself." He looked up at Tony. "The system pretty much teaches kids to be independent as quickly as possible. Let it go for now, Tony."

Skye took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "I'll try to compromise. JARVIS can do the initial analysis and I'll pick it up from there, okay?"

"Sure, sweetheart," Tony agreed, backing off and trusting in Clint's assessment of the situation. "Just ask if you need a hand, okay?"

"I will." She managed a small smile for the billionaire. "Thanks. I know you just want to help. I get it. I just…"

"Hey, no problem. Just remember that there's more than enough money available for anything you can't cover, alright? If there's something you really need, talk to me before you try to do without. I'm sure we can make some sort of arrangement you'll be happy with."

Skye nodded and her smile brightened a little. "Thanks. And thank you for understanding," she added as she transferred her smile to Clint.

"No problem, kid," Clint replied with a small smile of his own. "It'll take some getting used to. But if you ever want to talk…"

Skye just nodded again. Leaving her laptop running, she returned to the table. She was about to settle into her chair again when Bucky pulled her into his lap instead. She snuggled into his embrace and began to relax as conversation changed topics again.

* * *

><p>Skye went back to her program right after lunch the next day. She'd spent the morning training with Natasha, Clint and Sam. But JARVIS had finished the initial data breakdown and she needed to work on the rest herself.<p>

She had workspace in her apartment, but she tended to keep her laptop set up on one of the public floors. It made Steve feel better if he knew she was eating regularly, and Bucky liked to know where she was as much as possible. Often he would sit on one of the couches and read or get caught up on the movies he'd missed in the past several decades. Skye never minded the tv on in the background, and sometimes she would offer commentary on whatever he was watching; she'd seen most of it anyway.

"Well, damn," Skye muttered to herself. But not quietly enough for super-soldier hearing to miss it.

"What is it?" Bucky asked as he paused the movie.

"This facility is definitely experimenting with human enhancement. It's supposedly a research facility, breaking down genomes. In theory, they're loosely associated with the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is a part of the US National Institutes of Health. In actuality, it looks like they've built on Zola's research."

Bucky's expression darkened at the mention of Zola and he quickly moved to sit beside Skye. "What else does it say?"

"Well, their test subjects are identified by volunteer number, though I suspect 'volunteer' is being used in the loosest sense of the word." Skye continued to skim the text. "It looks like they're not overly concerned with the high fatality rate."

"Sounds like HYDRA," Bucky agreed, his face and voice full of tension.

"Wait, what's this?"

"What?"

"It looks like they have a handful of notable assets at this location," Skye said. "I can't figure out what they are; they're not described anywhere, just referenced a few times." Skye looked up at Bucky. "But if they're that important, whatever they are, I don't think we should leave them in HYDRA's hands."

Bucky nodded. "You should contact Coulson. I'll go get Steve and the others. I think we should discuss this with everyone."

* * *

><p>TBC...<p>

**A/N:** There is actually an organization called the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of the US National Institutes of Health. I figured it would make a great front for HYDRA (or other MCU organizations) working on genetic manipulation for creating (or de-mutating) superhuman powers. The actual organization is doing some pretty interesting things, and this is in no way intended to cast suspicion on them in the real world.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** My apologies for not updating yesterday. My brother-in-law is in for open heart surgery today, and yesterday I was dealing with a ton of family messages back and forth. But the chapter is done, so you have it... just a little late. Thanks for your patience!

I don't know how much writing I will get done this weekend, either, so there may be a delay in the next chapter as well. But I will do my best!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 9<span>**

It didn't take long for Skye to move her computer to the large conference room; she and Tony had Coulson and May on the video conference screen by the time Bucky assembled the rest of the group. A few minutes later, they also had their network and the Playground's network interfaced so they could actively share data.

"Okay, so here's what I found," Skye began after everyone exchanged greetings. "There's a HYDRA facility in the mountains of Montana, basically in the middle of nowhere. It's mostly underground, several miles off the interstate – probably so they can ship in supplies without appearing too strange. According to the data we got, it looks like they're following another line of human enhancement research and experimentation. They haven't gone the Centipede route; it looks more like they're trying to tamper with DNA to give people powers. Forceful mutation, that sort of thing."

"Wasn't there a government group experimenting with mutates several years ago?" Bruce asked.

"Not officially," Coulson answered over the screen. "Though anti-mutant sentiment has been an issue on and off, as we all know. The X-gene isn't a problem for SHIELD right now; there are other groups focusing on those issues."

"Anyway," Skye continued after a moment, "it looks like this HYDRA facility – whatever they're doing – has a couple of highly valued Assets. They're not identified in the database. But from what little they do say, we might not want to leave these Assets in their hands." With an apologetic glance at Bucky, she added, "I don't think we need to leave them with another Winter Soldier, or whatever else they might be trying for."

"I would have to agree," Coulson said seriously. "May, see what Fitz and Mack can pull together in the way of entry tech. We'll get Morse and Hunter called back when we know what we've got." He turned back to the screen. "Thanks, Skye. You did good."

"Thanks, AC, but I have a feeling you're not getting into this place without me. Their security is that kind of high tech," Skye broke in before he could end the call. "I know Fitz is getting better, but he never could crack security systems like I can."

Coulson paused, then shared a glance with May. May nodded. "Have you got enough of a handle on the tremors?" she asked, her voice serious.

"Enough so that I don't start setting them off if I get angry," Skye answered coolly. "If I stay calm, I can control them. If something happens in the middle of one, it's hard to make them stop, but I can't imagine I'm going to be deliberately starting earthquakes if we're underground."

"Fair enough," May nodded, and Skye smiled a little at the glimmer of pride in May's eyes.

"Perhaps we should make this a joint venture, Sir," Steve spoke up. "Bucky and I would happily accompany Skye and your people into this facility; there's no need for you to pull people off other ops."

"JARVIS and I could run communications and tech support from here," Tony offered. "We can easily link up again, so you can monitor the team as well."

May and Coulson again shared a glance, then looked back in time to see Skye nod as well. "Fine, and we appreciate the assistance," Coulson agreed. "May, Fitz and Mack will pick you up in three hours and the six of you will head for Montana. Skye, send any schematics you have to us. May and Cap can coordinate an entry plan during the flight."

"Yes, sir," Skye agreed with a small smile.

"Dismissed," Coulson said out of habit, then smiled a little as only May left the room.

"Can you guys give us a minute, please?" Skye asked the other Avengers. Her eyes met Steve's and he nodded in understanding. "We'll go get our gear together. Tony, you may want to set up all the connections from your lab rather than here."

"Yeah, sure," Tony agreed. "You good, sweetheart?" he asked Skye.

"Yeah. Thanks."

The room cleared fairly quickly and Skye smiled at Coulson.

"How are you doing, Skye?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm okay, AC. Honestly. Steve and Bucky have been really sweet and understanding. We've been taking things slowly. Despite magazine articles."

"Simmons saw it when she went into town, believe it or not," Coulson told her. "Be careful, Skye. Your… Cal is still out there."

"Yeah, I know. But we've stepped up my training and are taking precautions. I'll be fine."

"I know you will," he said gently. "But more importantly… are you happy?"

Skye smiled slowly, and her eyes took on a soft glow. "You know, I really am. I'm still adjusting to life in the tower, but they're all good people. They've gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. I miss you, though. And the team, or the way the team used to be at least."

"It's okay to miss it, Skye," Coulson assured her. "I miss you too, but I'm glad you're happy. You have a place to belong, and maybe it's not where you thought you'd be but it's yours."

"And it's a good feeling," Skye agreed. "I'm glad we're still working together, though. I'm glad I can still help."

"You're always welcome as far as I'm concerned, Skye. Be careful out there, okay?"

Skye nodded. "Yeah, I will. Talk to you again soon, AC."

Coulson nodded and then broke the connection. Skye watched the image fade from the screen and stood quietly for a long moment. Then she took a deep breath and went down to her apartment to get herself ready for the mission.

* * *

><p>Skye, Steve and Bucky stood together at the private air field where Tony kept his planes. He'd already arranged for landing permission for the Bus, as well as covering any refuelling costs. They were all fully geared up for the mission; Skye had a bag with her tablet and laptop, though she was currently unarmed. She hoped they'd have spare ICERS on board for her. If not, Bucky had more than enough weapons to spare one for her to use, but Skye still preferred to use nonlethal force whenever possible.<p>

They watched the Bus land nearby and waited for the ramp to open before moving closer. They paused at the bottom, Skye just at the edge of the ramp with her soulmates on either side and just behind her. May strode down to greet them, her expression blank as usual. She took in the trio silently, then motioned them in.

"Wheels up in ten," she said as she led them back in.

"Refuel is arranged, if you need it," Steve spoke up as they followed her up the ramp. May glanced at him, then at Skye who nodded.

"Thanks. We'll do that first, then; wheels up in twenty."

"Fitz in the lab?" Skye asked when May paused to hit the button on the ramp.

"Yeah. Everything's where you're used to it being. You three take Coulson's room; bunks will never fit these guys, let alone more than one of you."

Skye frowned a little. "Is Coulson okay with that?"

May smirked. "I won't tell if you won't. Just don't make a mess up there."

Skye grinned back and nodded. "Got it. Thanks, May." She looked over at her soulmates. "Come on, let's stash our stuff."

"Get what intel you can into the command center while we take off," May instructed Skye as they parted ways. "We'll meet after we're in the air."

"Yes, ma'am," Bucky answered for the three of them as he followed Skye up the stairs; she gave them the quick tour on the way, showing them the command center, kitchen, bathrooms, lounge area and bunks. Then she led them to the upper level and into Coulson's office/bedroom. It wasn't much compared to the tower, but they'd spend at least one night on the plane, and it would be more comfortable by far than any of the smaller bunks.

"That's it. You could fit most of the plane's living space into Tony's tv room," Skye said wryly. "And my bunk here was larger than my van. So you can see why I'm not really used to all the space even in my apartment, let alone yours."

"It's fine, Skye," Steve said as he pulled her into his arms. Bucky joined them just seconds later. "Just relax; we've stayed in far worse places. Don't worry about it."

"Should we go meet the others?" Bucky asked as he felt Skye relax in their arms.

"Yeah. I'd like to see how Fitz is doing."

"He's the guy who got dropped into the ocean?" Steve asked gently.

"Yeah. Him and Simmons, but she's not on this trip. Fitz hasn't been the same since; his brain was damaged by lack of oxygen. He was getting better before I left, but…"

"It's okay, doll. We can be patient with him."

Skye smiled. "I know. Mack's going to be a little harder. I don't think he blames me for what happened in the Kree city, but he hasn't been comfortable with me since then either. Honestly, it was the newer team members who I disturbed the most. Simmons just wanted to run endless tests to see what had changed and why I got powers. Fitz… I'm not entirely sure he fully understands what happened to me." Skye sighed. "Coulson and May changed the least. May was just concerned that I was a risk and a danger if I couldn't get my power under control."

"It'll be okay, kitten," Steve assured her.

"Just do me a favour and don't let the team hear you call me that, okay?"

"Deal," he agreed, chuckling. "Come on, let's go meet the others."

Skye led the way down to the labs, but she paused outside the glass doors. She just watched Fitz talking animatedly with Mack, the older man occasionally filling in words much like Simmons once would. She smiled sadly and stepped backwards. "He looks happy. Maybe I should just stay out of the way," she murmured.

"I'm sure he doesn't want that, doll," Bucky murmured to her.

Bolstered by their support, Skye headed into the lab. "Hey Fitz, Mack," she greeted the two men when they looked up at the sound of the door. She tried to ignore the uneasy look that flitted across Mack's face. "I thought you might want to meet the other half of the team. This is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes."

Fitz's eyes lit up when he processed their presence and he smiled. "Skye! You're… you're…"

"Yeah, Fitz. I'm here. And I brought my soulmates as backup."

"Great!" Fitz approached Skye and flung his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug with his good arm. She froze for a moment, then gently hugged him back. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and just enjoyed the moment.

Mack, in the meantime, bypassed Skye to hold his hand out to Steve and Bucky. They both shook it politely, exchanging greetings. "It's an honor to meet you, Captain Rogers," Mack said genuinely, smiling.

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you as well," Steve answered, his tone courteous. He smiled a little when he saw Fitz hug Skye; he and Bucky exchanged a knowing glance.

"Come on, Skye, you've got to see this," Fitz said excitedly as he pulled away from her. But he grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the holotable. "Look! We made a… a new… a new…"

"Oh, Fitz, is that a new magic window?" Skye asked, recognizing the specs for the observation device.

"Yes! And look, it can show thermal or spec…spec…"

"Spectrometer readings," Mack spoke up, filling in the difficult word for Fitz.

"Yeah, those."

"Cool, so you can analyse what something is made out of without opening it, right?" Between the science twins and Tony, Skye understood much more of the technobabble than she used to. Fitz was actually making sense.

"That's right!" Fitz looked up at Skye, his expression proud. "You've been studying."

Skye laughed happily. "Not really. But having a conversation with Tony is almost as difficult as keeping up with you sometimes."

Fitz's eyes went wide. "You talk tech with Tony Stark?"

With a shrug and a nod, Skye explained, "Well, I do live in Avengers Tower, Fitz. It's kind of hard not to."

"Get Tony talking about tech and it's hard to make him stop," Steve said, coming up behind Skye. He held his hand out to Fitz. "It's nice to meet you, Agent Fitz."

"Just Fitz, please, Captain." Fitz returned the handshake, though his grip wasn't as strong as he would have liked. "Soulmates?" he asked, looking between Steve and Skye.

"Yeah, both of them," Skye explained.

"Good. Maybe superheros can keep you out of trouble," Fitz teased her, and Skye blushed.

"Well, we can try," Bucky spoke up as he moved over to join the group around the holotable. "Though Steve, here, was never any good at staying out of trouble either."

"Oh, hush. They don't need to hear old stories," Steve said with a mild glare. "Jerk."

"Punk," Bucky replied good-naturedly. But he refrained from telling stories for the moment.

Mack moved to stand behind Fitz, quietly observing the interactions going on in front of him. He still had problems dealing with Skye; he knew Trip's death wasn't her fault any more than she could be blamed for what happened to him in those tunnels. But she brought back the memories, and it was hard for him to cope with. He could tell, though, that her soulmates weren't going to tolerate him if he couldn't tolerate her.

It would mean a lot to Fitz, anyway. Mack knew that the young engineer saw Skye as the little sister he never had. They hadn't been close during Fitz's recovery, but Skye had always made the effort to be around, even when Fitz wouldn't let her be close. Mack made up his mind to be professional and polite with Skye, even if it was still hard for him to be friendly. It was for the best, for everyone.

"I brought something to show you, Fitz," Skye said as the banter died down.

"You did?" His excitement made Skye smile, reminding Skye of better days with their old team.

"Yep. Here." She pulled out her tablet and brought up the photo gallery. Then she offered it to Fitz, who took one end while letting her hold the other. The two of them bent together over the pictures. "I brought you pictures of the Tower. This is my guest apartment, on like, floor eleventy-one."

"Stark Tower only has 93 floors, Skye," Fitz corrected. Skye only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I'm actually on 85; there are four guest apartments, and I'm living in one. The Avengers' apartments are each a floor, except for Sam because he asked for something smaller. There's a second apartment on his floor, where Rhodey stays when he's in New York."

"No pictures of those?" Fitz asked curiously as they flipped through images.

"Nope. I haven't been in most of them. Most of the group takes their private space fairly seriously. I got to peek into Thor's living room, though, because he hasn't been around."

"Don't tell Simmons. She'll never forgive you for not bringing pictures if you saw Thor's apartment," Fitz says, some of the excitement leaving his voice.

Skye shook her head, agreeing. "Yeah. Anyway, 91 is a big common area – kitchen and dining room, gym, home theatre and lounge. I have lots of pictures of those." She shows them to Fitz; several of them even include her, from big group dinners.

"How did you get pictures of yourself at dinner?" Steve asked, looking over her shoulder. "We're all there."

"JARVIS, of course," Skye answered. "He has video of most of the common areas, except the gym."

"JARVIS?" Fitz asked, intrigued.

"Oh, yeah, Tony has this AI that basically runs the day-to-day stuff. He has audio interface just about everywhere, and in an emergency can do things like monitor heart rate and stuff. And it's super helpful; he'll even run programs in the background while I'm hacking."

"I'm officially jealous," Fitz teased her, crossing his arms awkwardly. "Why do you get to have all the fun?"

Skye laughed. "Because you're not going to shake everything apart if you have a panic attack?" she teased right back. Then her voice lowered. "Seriously though, Fitz, you're welcome to come visit sometime. I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Skye," Fitz replied solemnly. "I'm glad that you're safe, and I'm… I'm really happy for you, finding your soulmates and all. But it… it isn't the same without you."

Skye just sighed and rested her head on Fitz's shoulder as they flipped through more photos.

"Everyone strap in for takeoff," May's voice rang through the speakers in the lab. The group moved to seat themselves; Skye left the tablet with Fitz to look at while she settled into the seat between her soulmates. Once everyone was in, Mack hit the intercom to let May know they were set.

Takeoff was fairly quick, and they were able to move around again soon. "I suppose I'd better get upstairs and get the intel into the command center. Don't have too much fun without me," she told the guys as she headed out of the lab.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. Thank you to everyone who sent supportive thoughts or prayers for my family. My brother in law survived his surgery, though recovery is still uncertain. We'll just have to see how he does.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 10<span>**

Skye finished loading the schematics into the computers on the Bus just as May came into the room. She set it up on the main screen with the rest of the data organized for easy access. May looked over the screens and nodded. "Good work," she said to the younger agent. "I just asked Captain Rogers to join me; we'll sort out our plan and then brief everyone."

"Right. I'll get out of your way," Skye replied as she hopped off the table she was sitting on.

"Skye, wait." Skye paused just inside the doorway and turned back to look at May. May returned her look steadily. "Coulson told me what happened, that first day in New York. I'm glad you're happy, Skye."

Skye smiled and her eyes softened as she nodded. "I am; with them in my life, I'll never be alone again. But I miss the old team sometimes, too."

"You probably always will," May agreed with a nod. "No two teams are ever alike. But you'll find your place."

"I know. Thanks, May."

Steve stepped into the room with a smile for Skye and a nod to May. "Everyone's still in the lab," Steve told Skye as she left. She nodded and left the room with a smile of thanks.

When Skye entered the lab, she received smiles of welcome from Bucky and Fitz and smiled back. It surprised her a bit to receive a nod and a tight smile from Mack, but she nodded back as she moved to Bucky's side. Bucky wrapped his arm – the metal one – around Skye and she leaned lightly into him as she listened to the discussion she'd walked into. Bucky was describing some of the tech he'd used under HYDRA's control, and Mack was making notes while Fitz listened raptly.

Skye smiled to herself; Bucky didn't know much about computers or cell phones, but he had been taught to use a number of espionage devices as well as modern weapons. She knew he didn't talk much about those days, but it seemed that he was happy to tell Fitz about the kinds of things he'd been given to use. If she had to guess, Skye figured Bucky hoped SHIELD could counter or reproduce those items and that by sharing what he knew, that he could make up for some of the damage he'd caused.

After listening for a while, Skye unlocked her tablet and went back to work on the data from the HYDRA location. She was perfectly content to work with Fitz's excited chatter and Bucky's quiet voice in the background. There were a couple of archives with odd chemical formulas that Skye flagged for Simmons to review, and some strange schematics that Skye forwarded to Tony as well as flagging for Fitz. Anything she found on organizational matters she tagged for Coulson and Steve, though she'd set those up for Steve to review later.

Time passed quickly for the group and all too soon they received a call to their briefing. They filed into the command center, Skye and Bucky moving to one side of the table while Mack and Fitz settled at the other side.

"Okay, everyone, this is what we're going to do…"

* * *

><p>It was dark when the team crept up to the research facility. Skye and Bucky were the first in position, and Skye immediately pulled out her laptop and started working her way into the security systems. The place only had two entrances, and most of the facility was built into the mountain itself, so they were splitting into teams of three. Fitz and Mack would be with Steve; May would join Skye and Bucky as soon as she had the Bus locked down safely.<p>

"I'm in," Skye said quietly, knowing their earpieces were sensitive enough to pick up even a whisper unless there was a lot of background noise. She looked up to meet Bucky's eyes and saw May approach as well.

"We're in position," Steve confirmed over the radio. "How long until you can disable security?"

"Whenever you're ready, but we'll only have a few minutes until they notice. I'll loop the camera feeds, so they'll only show the same images. But they seem to check their systems regularly; we could have two minutes or ten, but probably not much more than that."

"Right. You've got your target and we've got ours. As long as we all focus and stay in our groups, we'll be fine." Steve's voice was confident and reassuring.

"Skye, JARVIS and I will monitor the security while you're on the move. When you get inside, we'll have your back," Tony chimed in. "Just leave the access point open on your tablet while you're busy."

"Got it. Everyone ready?" Skye waited for confirmation, then activated her security hack. She waited until the tablet had the connection and her program confirmed activation before she closed the laptop and dumped both in her bag. "Security disabled. Time to go."

Skye let Bucky pull her to her feet and she followed him as quietly as she could. May moved like a shadow behind her, silently watching. In only a moment, they were through the fence and approaching the building; they moved from shadow to shadow to the door. Skye confirmed that the electronic lock was disengaged before Bucky pulled open the door and darted inside. "Clear," he murmured, and Skye followed him in.

They quickly made their way to the emergency stairs on this end of the facility. Their target area was basement level ten; a genetics lab where two assets were supposedly in containment. The team moved swiftly down the stairs, thankfully encountering no resistance on the way. "Target floor reached," May told the other team quietly while Skye grabbed her tablet to unlock the stairwell door. "Going in."

With a nod to Bucky when she was done, Skye stepped back to let him open the door. Both her soulmates had made it perfectly clear that under no circumstances was she to go through a doorway without letting someone more experienced clear it first. She was learning a lot, but they were rather paranoid about her safety and she had decided that this mission was not the time to argue. So she waited.

The sound of gunshots had May ducking through the door quickly, with Skye right behind her. Their stairway exited into the middle of a corridor; Bucky was making short work of six guards down the hall to the left, but three more had emerged from doors on the right. May quickly occupied two of them, leaving the third for Skye to deal with – which she did, pulling her ICER and downing the guard.

They quickly regrouped, dragging unconscious guards into side rooms and locking them in. Skye shorted out the electronic locks on those doors so they couldn't be unlocked; they'd have to be dismantled to get the doors open. Then they moved swiftly down the hall to the labs.

Skye waited, back to the wall beside the door, as Bucky kicked the door in and darted into the room. May followed quickly, with Skye just behind her. Two more guards were quickly taken down, leaving the room occupied by them… and two scientists, looking startled as they froze at Bucky's growled command. The room was mostly empty, with a few half-packed boxes beside the scientists.

May cursed, but went with Bucky to restrain the scientists for later questioning. Skye began scouring the room, looking for anything that might be considered an Asset. Her eyes were drawn to the far end of the room, seeing a row of large windows. A series of switches on that wall turned on lights behind the window, revealing a series of windowed rooms – or cells. Empty cells.

"I think this one's a bust," Skye said as she turned her attention to the desk and its remaining contents as well as the boxes.

"What 'assets' were you studying here," May demanded of the two cowed scientists sitting quietly in the corner. They stared at her, silent, until she levelled a gun at them. "Tell me."

The younger of the two, a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties at best went wide eyed and words began to spill out. "Just genetic aberrations. If humans are to maintain racial superiority, we need to know what causes some people to develop powers! We need to figure out if we can induce these powers in others, to keep developing culturally and genetically! Like those two kids we-" She was abruptly cut off when the other scientist pulled a small knife out of his lab coat pocket and stabbed her before May could intervene.

"Damn it!" May cursed as she wrenched the knife away from the man. He just glared up at her and a crack was heard from him just before he began to foam at the mouth.

"Cyanide," Bucky grumbled as the man died in May's grip. "Let's grab this stuff and get out of here. Skye's right, I think we're too late. They've clearly been moving out of here for a while."

"Kids," Skye said quietly from her place by the desk. "She said they were studying a couple of kids. Kids with powers, I'm guessing."

"Breathe, Skye," May said as she stepped over to the younger agent. "Focus. Figure out what we need to take, so we can find them next time."

With a nod and a sigh, Skye squared her shoulders and turned her attention back to the boxes. Most of them were carefully stored lab equipment, but one held a collection of paper files. Some with photos. "I think this is the only one we need. Unless Jemma needs more vials and research equipment."

"Can't hurt, if we can get it out of here," May replied with a shrug. They were just about to close up the boxes when an alarm went off. "Damn. Leave it for now. Skye, do you need the whole box or just a few files?"

"There's only a handful of files in here." Skye quickly shoved the dozen or so files into the bag with her laptop. She was about to swing it onto her back when Bucky took it from her. "Bucky," she complained.

"It weighs next to nothing for me. You need your manoeuvrability if we run into more people," Bucky said with a shrug, but his tone was firm. "Move now, argue later."

"Fine, but this is _so_ not over." Skye swept past Bucky to follow May out into the hallway.

"Come to level twelve, if you can," Steve's voice came over the radio. "We could use some backup."

"On our way," May replied as she darted to the stairway doors again. Thankfully, they were still unlocked and the group moved down quickly.

* * *

><p>Everything went smoothly for Steve and his team right up until they hit their designated target on the twelfth floor. It took them a little longer to get there; their entrance was harder to get to and further from the nearest stairway. They didn't meet any resistance getting in, though, which Steve found more than a little strange.<p>

Steve and Mack both heard the commentary from the other team, but they didn't respond. There was no point. Fitz didn't have an earpiece because he didn't work well with distractions, but neither Steve nor Mack had any intention of leaving him alone.

Unfortunately, that peace had only lasted until they exited the stairwell. A large group of soldiers with a few scientists carrying boxes and cases were halfway down the very long hallway. The sound of the door behind them caused several soldiers to look back. One of them triggered an alarm, and the rest quickly started shooting. Steve quickly shoved Fitz back into the stairwell and with a quick roll settled himself into the doorway of an empty closet. Mack quickly took up position in the stairway door and returned fire as Steve triggered the comms to request help from the other team.

Steve heard a commotion several minutes later and saw the soldiers rearranging themselves to deal with another set of targets. They grouped into a shoot-and-move pattern, clearly herding people and equipment towards another location. Steve and Mack followed on one side, Fitz ducking into empty rooms and doorways as he crept along behind; after a few moves Steve started to see May and Bucky doing the same from the other end. He hoped they might be able to cut the group off from their goal.

Luck was not on their side, however; after a few more tense minutes, the group started funnelling into a large doorway. When all that was left were the soldiers guarding the door, Steve went into action. He dove into the hallway, throwing his shield to take out men and weapons. He saw a flash of silver as Bucky jumped in from the other side, and then a shadow detached itself from a doorway and resolved into May as she kicked the gun out of another soldier's hands.

A mechanical rumbling and the sound of an engine whirring to life echoed through the open doorway as the group took out the last of the guards. Steve and Bucky ran into the room, May hot on their heels while Skye and Mack stayed back a little until Fitz made it to the group. The sounds got louder until they had to shout to talk.

"What's going on?" Skye called, triggering her earpiece as well in hopes that someone might hear her.

"Underground hanger!" May called back. "They've all loaded onto a plane."

"Skye, can you block that door?" Steve yelled, getting her attention. Skye darted through the doorway and looked around; the ceiling – heck the whole room – was cut from the raw stone of the mountain and a blast door in the wall was open at the end of a short runway. A pair of SHIELD-style quinjets were just lifting off the ground while a third stood open with a man on the ramp. Steve stopped, startled, as he met the man's eyes and saw recognition flare and he in turn recognized the face. He threw his shield, but not fast enough to hit before the ramp closed.

"No, not without bringing the mountain down on our heads!" Skye yelled over the noise of the planes' engines. "It's just not that focused, more's the pity." The group watched as the planes took off and out the hangar doors. The room seemed to echo the sudden silence after the planes were gone.

"We need to get out of here," Bucky said into the silence. "They know we were here, and if we don't want to meet with a strike team, we need to leave."

"Copy that," May answered. She spun on her heel and headed back for the stairway they came down. "Let's go get those boxes and get back to the Bus. Anybody hurt?" Everyone's replies were negative, thankfully.

Skye approached Steve where he stood still staring after the plane. "Steve?" she said softly.

"That man. I recognized him, and I'm pretty sure he knows me too."

"Who is he?"

"A man who should've died decades ago. But he looks the same; no older than he did during the War." Skye cursed softly under her breath but didn't interrupt. She just looked up at Steve, and he finally looked down to meet her eyes. "His name is Baron Wolfgang von Strucker."

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay between chapters. I know this is short, but I thought it would be better than skipping a week!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 11<span>**

When the team returned unhindered to the Bus, laden with equipment boxes, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Wheels up in five," May told them briskly. "Stow these boxes; you can sort through them when we're in the air," she added to Mack and Fitz.

Bucky moved to help put the boxes away. Skye strapped herself into a seat and pulled out her laptop and tablet. She searched through their records and the ones stolen from HYDRA for any references to the Baron. When she looked up to ask Steve a question, he'd disappeared. "Damn," Skye said to herself as the engines came to life and Bucky dropped into the seat beside her.

"What's up, doll?" Bucky asked quietly as Skye quickly closed her laptop and stashed it.

"Steve vanished," she confided softly. "And now I can't go find him until we're in the air."

"We'll find him together," Bucky assured her. He took her hand in his, squeezing reassuringly. "I thought something was bothering him."

"He recognized the man by the plane," Skye told him. "Remembered him from the war." Bucky's eyes widened, but he only shook his head.

"We have time to figure it out. Just relax for a few minutes while we take off, and then we'll go talk to Steve." Skye nodded and rested her head against Bucky's shoulder.

They sat together until May gave the all clear. Skye closed her eyes and tried to unwind a little from the mission. Bucky stroked her hair gently as she leaned against him, just enjoying her closeness and the knowledge that none of their team was hurt.

When the plane was safely in the air, Bucky grabbed Skye's laptop bag and the two headed for the stairs. They stopped in the kitchen for bottles of water and then headed to their temporary room. It was the logical place to look, since Steve didn't seem to be in any of the public spaces.

Sure enough, they walked in to see Steve staring blankly out the window. Rather than speak, they just moved up behind him and wrapped him in a joint embrace. Skye rested her head on Steve's arm, and Bucky wrapped strong arms around them both. They stayed that way for a long time, each taking solace from the embrace in their own way.

"I'm sorry," Steve finally said into the silence of the room. He closed his eyes and relaxed against his soulmates, pulling himself out of his memories.

"It's okay," Bucky rumbled, answering for both of them. "Whenever you're ready to talk about it. Until then, we're right here."

Steve nodded. "I know. It's just hard sometimes. When I realized how much the world had changed while I slept, I never thought I'd have to face the same old threats. That man… he worked with Schmidt and Zola during the War. I know him, and I'm sure he recognized me too. And probably you, Buck."

"Von Strucker, you said was his name?" Skye asked gently. Bucky tensed when she said the name, and Skye's glance flicked to him for a moment. She frowned, seeing how concerned they both were.

"Yes," Steve confirmed.

"Shouldn't he be dead by now?" Skye couldn't help but ask the question.

"Most likely," Steve agreed. "But he looks mostly the same."

Skye scowled at that. "So we've got another one like Whitehall. Except not really, because Whitehall did age – and then managed to de-age himself later. So maybe this guy is another one with some variant of super soldier serum?"

"Wait, Whitehall de-aged?" Bucky asked, startled.

"Yeah. You remember when I told you that Peggy rescued my mother from him? According to Cal, when Whitehall found my mom again after I'd been born, he killed her in attempt to gain her power for himself. And apparently succeeded. We've found photos of him just prior to his release from prison, and he was definitely old and wheelchair-bound."

"Whitehall isn't a German name, though. It isn't even eastern European."

Skye shrugged. "He changed it. Probably to both disassociate from his former identity and so that no one would ask questions about how he was suddenly young again."

"Do you know his original name?" Bucky asked, his voice low and angry – though not with them.

"I can look. It's in my computer," Skye offered. "Does it matter? Coulson killed him in San Juan."

"I think we'd like to know," Steve answered quietly. "But if he's dead, then it can wait." Bucky nodded his agreement.

"Alright. Well, do you want to tell me more about von Strucker? Or should I go back to searching our databases as well as the records we snagged from HYDRA?"

"Both, I think," Steve answered. He turned around to kiss Bucky, then leaned down to kiss Skye as well. "Let's go sit, and I'll talk while you get your laptop set up."

"Sure," Skye replied. She started to pull away, but Bucky held her trapped until he'd gotten a kiss of his own. She smiled sweetly at him when he released her and just shook her head. "What did I say about you two keeping score?" They just laughed with her and they all moved to settle on the couch in the office area.

Skye pulled out her laptop, plugged it in and opened it up on the small table while she listened to Steve. "I fought von Strucker, back in '44 in Bavaria. The SSR had intercepted some documents at the time that suggested he was seeking or developing advanced weaponry for the Nazis. When I encountered him, the fight was long and hard. I had managed to defeat him, but then a plane crashed into the tower we were in. He pushed both of us off the side of the building, and I think he hit me as we fell." Steve shrugged a little. "I blacked out, but we must have fallen too far apart or else he was seriously injured from the fall, because he didn't kill me while I was unconscious."

"Hmm," Skye hummed thoughtfully as she began programming data searches. "Well, I got copies of all the SHIELD records when they hit the public domain at the Triskellion. We did pull a lot of the really sensitive stuff fairly quickly, personal information on some of the higher profiles mostly, though there's no way to guess who else has copies before we started deleting things. So I'm sure we'll find something in those records, even if it's only copies of old SSR reports."

"Did anyone else think it was odd that they were leaving?" Bucky asked after a few moments. "Did they know we were coming?"

"I don't think so," Steve said, his mind changing gears at the question. "I think they'd been leaving for some time; there's no way they could have emptied a facility like that in a day or two. I think they were already leaving, we just happened to catch them at it."

"I think Steve's right," Skye seconded without looking up from her computer screen. "Whatever 'test subjects' and 'assets' they had in those labs were already long gone by the time we arrived. I'd imagine the Baron always keeps that kind of security around himself. He looked a little snobbish to me."

"Of the worst kind," Steve agreed. "When we met, he called me 'gaudy and common' and said that's how all Americans are."

"Oh, yay," Skye said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "Nobility of the old guard, intolerant and bigoted. No wonder he fell in with the Nazis." Neither of her soulmates could find reason to disagree, so they just nodded.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Skye called out, "Come in," before either of her soulmates could get up to answer the door.

Fitz poked his head in and smiled. "Sorry to interrupt, but May needs every…everyone. Coulson's on the line."

"Thank you, Fitz," Steve replied, getting to his feet. "We'll be right down." Fitz disappeared as Skye finished what she was typing. She left the laptop open and running, letting it search while they went to see what was up.

* * *

><p>Debriefing went uneventfully. Skye and Bucky were both highly entertained to watch Fitz's glee at being introduced to Tony Stark over video conference, but otherwise there was nothing noteworthy exchanged until the end.<p>

"What do you mean when you say that Captain America _recognized_ the man on the last plane? From the old SHIELD?" Coulson asked with a frown.

"No, sir," Steve answered. "From the War. His name is Wolfgang von Strucker, and he was – among other things – a weapons developer for the Germans."

"I don't know if we have another Whitehall on our hands, AC, or if he wound up in on the super-soldier experiments," Skye added. "He doesn't look much older than Steve remembers him, if at all, but we've also never heard of others with a power like… like Whitehall stole. We're going to have to do some research, maybe see if it's in the HYDRA files."

"I'll put people on it from this end too, Skye, but that really is more your specialty," Coulson said with a sigh. "We may not have a choice but to see what you turn up."

"I know, and I'm already working on it." Skye pulled out her tablet and tapped at it for a few moments. "Tony, can you have JARVIS expand his search parameters? It'll save time if he can include this before I get back."

"You've got it, sweetheart," Tony agreed amiably. "He's working as we speak. And I'm setting you up a research lab like mine, so you can use the projectors to keep tabs on your data."

Skye smiled. "That wasn't necessary, but I'm sure it'll help. Thank you."

"No problem. When will we be seeing you?"

Skye glanced at May, who spoke up, "We pushed the engines pretty hard getting here. We're taking it easier coming back and everyone needs some rest anyway. Plan for morning."

"Sounds good. See you then," Tony said as he signed off.

"Get some rest," Coulson agreed. "And good work today, everyone. Thank you for working with us, Captain."

Bucky smirked. "You didn't really think we were going to let Skye face down HYDRA bastards without us, did you?" he asked.

"No, I can't say that I did," Coulson replied. "Still, we appreciate the help."

"Glad to help, AC," Skye answered. She waved as Coulson reached to end the call.

"Alright, everyone, get some rest," May ordered. "We'll land in New York in about six hours."

Skye, Bucky and Steve said good night to the team and headed for their (temporary) room. Skye locked the door behind them, shutting out the rest of the world. She pushed away from the door but only got about two steps before Bucky scooped her up into his arms and kissed her deeply. She moaned softly when she saw Steve turning down the covers on the bed; the heat in his eyes was enough to add to the fire Bucky's kisses were building in her.

"I lived on this plane for months," she said huskily when Bucky released her mouth. "But I never had company in my bunk. I guess we're going to join the Mile High Club after all?"

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you for your patience between chapters. Life has been more than a little hectic of late.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 12<span>**

The trio managed to get a few hours' sleep before the plane landed in New York. May's call for everyone to strap in for landing woke Steve and Bucky, and they managed to rouse Skye by the time the plane was on the ground. They quickly got dressed, deciding they could shower when they got back to the Tower. Bucky packed up Skye's computer equipment while Steve and Skye swiftly stripped the bed and changed the sheets. Skye paused to dump the linens in the laundry machine and started it running. Someone would have to move the load to the dryer, but that wouldn't be her problem.

May, Mack, and a sleepy looking Fitz met them at the top of the cargo ramp. Fitz pulled Skye in for a hug while Steve and Bucky shook hands with May and Mack. "It was nice working with you all," Steve said politely.

"It's good to know we can work together," May agreed. "We'll be in touch about the data."

Skye pulled gently away from Fitz and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You can always email or Skype me," she told the engineer gently. "And I meant it when I said you could visit. Bring Jemma and Mack, if you want. There's plenty of room."

"It's bloody Stark Tower. Of course there's room," Fitz answered cheerfully. "Don't be a stranger, Skye. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Fitz. I'll do my best, okay?" Skye pulled gently away and smiled at him. She turned to Mack and was pleasantly surprised to see him holding out a hand to her. She shook it with a tentative smile. "Take care, Mack."

"You too, Skye," Mack answered, polite but distant. Still, it was better than nothing so Skye didn't complain. She just nodded and turned to May, noticing Mack and Fitz return to the lab in the meantime.

"It was good working with you again, May," Skye said awkwardly. She wasn't good at goodbyes, and May wasn't the touchy-feely sort.

"You too. I'm glad you're finding your place, though," May said softly, ignoring the presence of the two super soldiers standing on the ramp.

Skye nodded. "Yeah. Me too. Say hi to AC for me, please? And… and maybe Simmons, if you think she'd want to know."

May's expression softened for a moment and she nodded. "I will." She reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of Skye's eyes. "Be happy, Skye." Skye smiled, accepting the gesture of affection for what it was. She brushed May's hand with her fingertips, restraining herself from the energetic hug she might have given Coulson or Tripp. With one last smile and nod, Skye walked down the ramp and joined her soulmates in the early morning sunlight.

* * *

><p>On her way back to the cockpit, May heard the soft hum of the machine in the laundry room. She smiled to herself and silently promised Skye that she'd finish the clean-up. As they'd agreed, Coulson didn't need to know.<p>

Though if Skye weren't involved, Phil would probably be thrilled to know that Captain America had slept in his bed…

* * *

><p>"So, breakfast and then run?" Steve asked Bucky as they took the elevator up to the 91st floor.<p>

"Sure," Bucky agreed. They both chuckled as Skye yawned.

"Hey, you two might be fine on four hours of sleep. But after breakfast, I am going back to bed."

"We figured, doll," Bucky smirked. "As long as you eat first, you can sleep the rest of the day if you like."

Skye rolled her eyes but nodded. "I just might," she quipped back as they stepped out of the elevator. "Some of us are merely empowered, after all."

"Empowered as opposed to what?" Tony asked, looking up at them from the table. He cradled a mug of coffee in his hands as he watched the trio – looking a little worn, but uninjured – head for the counter to collect breakfast. They all loaded up their plates, even Skye, and settled at the table before answering.

"As opposed to being super-human like them," Skye tilted her head towards her soulmates as she answered Tony.

"Ahh, right. Some of us are only human, after all," Tony agreed; his eyes widened when he saw Skye pause. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, it's true that some of our group are human," Skye answered evasively. She watched Tony's eyes narrow and sighed. "But I'm not. At best, I'm half-human. I don't think anyone has fully worked out the details of that one yet."

"Really?" Bruce spoke up from the far end of the table. "I thought your scans read as human."

"I think they still do, but no one has checked deeper in a while. Not since Puerto Rico." Skye shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I still have a normal blood type and that kind of thing. My mother was human to the best of my knowledge."

"Do we need to do some more complete testing, Skye?" Bruce asked gently. "Just in case you're ever hurt?"

Skye focused on eating for a bit before answering. "I don't want to be a guinea pig," she answered finally. "But I wouldn't want you to be completely caught blind if something should happen. So yeah, I guess we can. I'll send a message to Coulson and ask him to send over my medical file and give Simmons permission to discuss it with you if needed."

"I promise, you won't be a guinea pig. If you can stop by the labs today or tomorrow, I can take some blood samples and do most of the testing without you needing to be present."

Skye nodded. "I think I can handle that." She paused to yawn. "After I get some more sleep, I'll stop in."

"Late night?" Bruce asked.

"Op ended around midnight, local time, so about three am here," Tony answered, since he was already done eating.

Bruce glanced at his watch, noting that it was just after ten. "And you're even up?" he asked Tony sceptically.

Tony smirked. "Pepper's a wonderful motivation when we have a meeting. But I might catch a few extra z's after lunch."

Bruce snorted but didn't comment further. He just watched quietly, sipping his tea, as the others finished their meals.

"Well, I'm for more sleep," Skye said as she picked up her dishes. She returned them to the kitchen staff. "You boys enjoy your run," she added as she paused behind her soulmates. She kissed the top of Steve's head, then Bucky's, and then headed for the elevators. "My apartment, please, JARVIS," she said when the doors closed.

Skye let herself into her apartment with a sigh. She realized that her laptop and tablet were probably still upstairs, since Bucky had refused to let her carry them again. But at the moment she was too tired to care.

Her first stop was the shower. She dropped her mission attire in the laundry basket and spent a long time just enjoying the luxury of being able to stand under the hot spray for as long as she chose. When she caught herself drifting off she decided she'd better finish up and get out.

She emerged into her bedroom wrapped up in a large, fluffy towel. Yawning, she pulled out an oversized sleep shirt and a pair of underwear. As she slid them on, she realized that she rather liked sleeping in Bucky's t-shirts. Or Steve's. She wondered if they'd let her borrow a couple as regular nightwear.

Somehow, she didn't think they'd say no.

She made sure her phone was on the nightstand beside her as she climbed under the covers. Between that and JARVIS, she ought to be reachable. Speaking of JARVIS…

"Hey JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Skye?"

"If either of my soulmates wants to come check on me, they have permission. But I'd rather not be woken unless it's important."

"Certainly, Miss Skye. Rest well."

"Thank you." Skye chuckled to herself, noting that only Tony would create an AI with more courtesy in its British tones than Tony ever showed to anyone himself.

* * *

><p>When she woke, hours later, Skye felt refreshed. She was a little surprised that she'd been allowed to sleep for so long. Despite her instructions to JARVIS, she had honestly expected that something would cause her to be woken up. Still, it was nice to feel fully rested for a change. She hadn't used her powers for more than twenty four hours, and the control such usage – for training or otherwise – took a lot of her energy.<p>

If a full day off left her feeling this kind of good, she might have to start taking a day off once a week or something.

"Any updates, JARVIS?" she asked the omnipresent AI as she got dressed into something clean. Jeans, cami and zip-up hoodie seemed like a good idea to her.

"Nothing yet, Miss Skye, though I have continued your process of flagging particular files for follow-up by relevant parties."

"Sounds great. Thank you."

"Happy to be of service, Miss Skye."

Skye made her way back up to the common area in search of a snack. She knew it was only a few hours until dinner, but she had missed lunch and was hungry. She needed her laptop anyway, and the paper files they'd grabbed were probably still in her bag. In a very short time, she was curled up in an armchair. Her laptop perched on the arm of the chair, her tablet on the table in front of her, and paper files in her lap. In her free hand she held an apple. A plate beside her tablet held cheese and crackers.

Damn. Steve's healthy eating habits were rubbing off on her.

She purposely chose not to remember all the times Ward had scolded her for eating junk.

Skye threw herself into resuming her data searches and checking the results of her mining programs. She ate while she worked, absently chewing and swallowing until she ran out. Then she pushed the plate aside, nothing remaining on it but the apple core, and filled up the space with paper from the files.

It quickly became obvious that she was going to have to consult Bruce and possibly Simmons with these files. They were very clinical notes of test results… but even without understanding the notes, Skye knew that the test subjects were people. The very detached, studious nature of the results was terrifying.

Much the way Whitehall had been terrifying, staring right into her face and telling her that discovery required _experimentation_. As if she were some sort of superior lab rat.

Skye shivered and returned the documents to the folders they'd come from. She'd take them to Bruce; she had promised to go see him anyway. She grabbed a bottle of water before heading to the elevators, knowing she'd need the hydration if he were going to take blood from her.

"Med labs, please," she told JARVIS as the elevator doors closed.

Just a few minutes later she knocked on the door to Bruce's lab before walking in. The door was unlocked and JARVIS hadn't warned her away, so she assumed it was safe.

"Oh, Skye. Come in," Bruce said with a smile. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am." She smiled back as she walked further into the lab. "Sorry I took so long; I stopped for something to eat and got caught up in my work. I actually found some things I need you to take a look at and that reminded me to come down anyway," she said, a little sheepishly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Some of the notes look like medical experiment records. But why don't we do this blood thing first?" She set the folders down on the table, but was more interested in getting her stuff out of the way.

"Of course. Eating before a blood draw is usually not a bad thing anyway," Bruce agreed. He led Skye over to a chair at the end of a long counter, where she could rest her arm while he worked. It didn't take long for him to obtain the samples he would need for further tests. "There," he said, pressing a sterile cotton against her skin to stop the bleeding. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," Skye agreed with a small smile. "You have an even lighter touch with that thing than Simmons. Thank you."

"Not a problem." Bruce took a few minutes to clean up his equipment and store Skye's blood properly.

"I feel I should probably give you a warning before we look at those files," Skye said when he was done. Her expression was blank, except for her eyes which showed her apprehension.

"Alright?" Bruce looked at her expectantly, keeping calm.

"These tests… I'm pretty sure they were being performed on actual people," she said softly. "It makes those results rather terrifying, because whoever was doing them clearly doesn't give a damn about anyone else. Or, at least not about their 'subjects'…"

Bruce took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand. I'll take a look, and if it starts to be a problem for me we'll pass along our progress to someone else. Sound good?"

Skye nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. Simmons should be able to help too, but we'll have to scan the files to send to her."

"We'll have JARVIS scan them and our notes when we have to stop." They began to spread out the contents of the files across Bruce's worktable. Bruce grabbed a notebook while Skye brought up a notepad on her tablet.

"JARVIS, can you make notes while we discuss and save them to my tablet, please?" Skye asked.

"Of course, Miss Skye. Would my assistance be helpful to your analysis?"

Skye just looked at Bruce and shrugged. Bruce smiled. "Scan the documents for chemical formulae, JARVIS, and see if you can match to any known drugs or other compounds. If you can't, extrapolate possible uses based on chemical components."

Skye blinked; she would never have thought of that. "Guess that's why I'm the hacker and not the doctor," she joked. Bruce chuckled and the two settled down to work.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Skye and Bruce spent the remainder of the afternoon working on reviewing the files. Skye was impressed with Bruce's dedication; she had to take several breaks to regain her equilibrium. While she could tell that Bruce was disturbed by the contents of the files, he worked diligently through all but one of her breaks. It bothered Skye that she was happy to see him distressed by the files, but knowing that he felt as bothered as she did set her more at ease about working with him.

She didn't think she could handle working with someone who could be unaffected by human experiments.

"Pardon me, Dr. Banner, but you requested a reminder thirty minutes before dinner," JARVIS said into the quiet lab.

Bruce looked annoyed for just a moment, but then relaxed. "Of course. Thank you, JARVIS."

"I think I've had enough for one day, anyhow," Skye said.

"Agreed," Bruce said. "If I come back down after dinner, I'll probably work on your DNA analysis rather than this."

"Works for me," Skye agreed easily. "JARVIS, send the scans, our notes and discussion to Jemma Simmons, please. I'll send her an email telling her to expect them." Skye pulled up her email on the tablet and wrote a message while JARVIS assembled the data.

Simmons,

I'm sure you know about the mission to the HYDRA base by now, so I won't bore you with the details. We found some paper files in a lab, and we need your help with the analysis. Please be forewarned – these guys were as bad as Whitehall, and we know they were experimenting on humans. It's disturbing, and if we had any choice I wouldn't inflict them on you or anyone else. But we need to know what they're doing. I'm sorry to pull you into this too. Anyway, you should be getting a separate set of files, which includes our progress and notes.

Thanks,

Skye

"Okay, message sent," Skye announced as she turned off her tablet.

"I have the scans; beginning data compression," JARVIS confirmed. Bruce began to return the documents to their original files.

"Thanks, JARVIS. And thank you too, Dr. Banner," Skye said, leaning on the side of the work table while he picked up the papers.

Bruce chuckled. "No need to thank me, and no need for formality, Skye. I'm glad to help; I can't condone the kind of experiments that are documented here, but it does take someone with advanced understanding of medicine and genetics to understand. There really isn't anyone else on the team capable of deciphering these."

"I know, but this stuff is creepy," Skye said with a shiver. Her mind flashed again to Whitehall and she took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. The glass jars on the table began to rattle so she quickly moved away from the table. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and felt the vibrations settle.

"Are you alright?" Bruce looked concerned as he moved around the table to her side. "You haven't lost control like that in weeks."

Skye opened her eyes and took in his compassionate gaze. She tried to smile a little and shook her head. "Right before I gained my powers, I met the man who was in charge of Hydra activity after Pierce died. Daniel Whitehall. When he found out that, like my mother, I could touch the Kree Diviner without it killing me his eyes kind of lit up. And when he had me caught, tied to a chair, he leaned over me like I was some kind of specimen and made a comment about how 'discovery requires experimentation.'" Skye shivered. "It was creepy. Especially because I know he… he killed my mother."

Gently, Bruce tugged Skye closer and gave her a comforting hug. To Skye, it felt a little like when Coulson hugged her. "We won't let Hydra get their hands on you, Skye. I promise you that."

"Oh, I know. Though I've been in Hydra custody before, I've always gotten out again before it could come to that. But I'm… unique. So of course they want to see what makes me tick," she said, a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Hey, I mean it. We won't let them get to you again." Bruce smiled. "You don't really think those soulmates of yours are going to let a Nazi scientist within ten feet of you, do you?"

Skye laughed. "No, I guess not."

"Good. Now let's go join the others for dinner."

Skye nodded and headed for the door, leaving the files in the lab. The ride up the elevator was quiet, but the silence was comfortable. It was the kind of silence that she used to occasionally find in the cockpit with May. Just looking out at the clouds and remembering what peace felt like.

The silence only lasted as long as the elevator ride, though. The doors opened to the bustle of Avengers getting ready for dinner. Pepper stood by the windows, a cell phone to her ear. Bucky was over by the television putting away a DVD and talking to Natasha. Sam and Steve were chatting as they set napkins and silverware on the table for everyone. Clint dropped out of the air duct as the elevator doors closed and nodded at Skye. She smiled back.

As the group converged on the table, Tony arrived and Pepper hung up the phone. The group helped themselves to dinner and settled in at the table. Skye wound up sitting between Steve and Pepper, with Bucky on Steve's other side and Natasha beyond him as they continued to discuss the film they'd been watching. It wasn't one Skye had seen, nor was it on the list of pop culture hits that she agreed her soulmates should see, so she was fine letting them discuss without her input.

"So, Skye," Tony called down the table. "What did you think of your new research space?"

The table grew quiet so Skye could answer and Skye blushed. "I completely forgot about it," she finally answered, her expression apologetic. "I was working with Bruce on those experiment files this afternoon."

Tony looked a little disappointed for a moment, but he shook it off. "It's alright, sweetheart. I should've reminded you after you slept. You can find it tomorrow, right?"

Skye smiled and nodded. "I will, promise. Or maybe after dinner we can move my laptop down there?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Tony agreed. "Though you've got way better machines down there already."

Skye laughed, her eyes lighting up at the mention of new computers. "Yeah, but the laptop is still important next time we have a mission. It's cool. Thank you, Tony."

Tony grinned back and nodded.

Pepper smiled. "In you, he finally has someone who loves technology as much as he does," Pepper said quietly to Skye as conversations resumed.

"I do, but I can't do with it what he does. I'm a hacker, not an engineer," Skye answered in a low voice.

"That's true, but at least you can appreciate the results and to some degree what it takes to create them."

Skye nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true. And I spent enough time with the scientists on my old team to at least have some vague idea of what he's talking about when he starts getting into heavy tech details."

"Which is more than most of the rest of us," Pepper agreed with a smile. "Oh, Natasha can use computers pretty handily, but she doesn't particularly care about the back end."

"And talking SI tech with Tony is almost all about the back end specs. I get it," Skye said. "It's fine."

"If you ever decide you want any of your software programs to go public, just talk to me," Pepper said softly. "I'm sure I can make a place for you in R&D if you ever decide you want it."

Skye smiled. "I appreciate that, Pepper. Maybe when all this Hydra nonsense settles down. While I get that Tony would happily take care of all of us in our downtime, I'd rather have something productive to do. Assuming that SHIELD ever stops needing me."

"I'm pretty sure that Director Coulson will always find something for you to do as long as you want to," Steve said quietly from Skye's other side. He rested a hand lightly on her thigh, and she realized suddenly that even with other conversations happening that Steve and Bucky probably both could have heard her talk with Pepper. Super hearing and all.

"I'm sure he would," Skye agreed. "But we'll worry about that after we get this Hydra nonsense settled, hmm?"

"Of course," Steve and Pepper both agreed.

The rest of dinner passed amicably enough. Chatter was mostly light. When she finished, Skye went to the lounge area to pick up her laptop and things that had been left when she went to find Bruce. She took the plate from her earlier snack and dropped it at the kitchen counter with the dinner dishes.

"You ready to see your computer lab?" Tony asked as he dropped his dishes off beside hers.

"Sure thing."

"Isn't it movie night?" Clint asked from his place at the table.

"It is," Pepper answered smoothly.

"I'm not fussy; pick out something when you guys are done," Skye suggested. "We'll join you when we're done."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "If you're not back in half an hour, I'm sending one of the boys after you. Otherwise you're likely to spend all night playing with your new toys."

Bucky and Pepper chuckled and the others nodded agreement. Skye rolled her eyes and Tony looked affronted, but he winked at Skye as they turned towards the elevators. "Skye's lab," Tony told JARVIS as the doors closed.

"Of course, sir," the AI replied as they began to move.

Skye watched the numbers, surprised when the elevator stopped on 83. The only thing she knew of on 83 was Tony's lab and storage for most of his suits. She'd rather expected her space to be on 82, where Bruce's lab and the medical facilities were. But she followed Tony through the small hallway to a doorway down the hall and on the opposite side of the building from Tony's labs.

She paused in the doorway as Tony walked inside, shocked and wide-eyed. The room was large and open; one wall held a large desk with what looked at a glance like an independent server and half a dozen monitors. While she took in those details, JARVIS lit up the center of the room with data projection. "Oh, wow," Skye whispered as she moved into the room.

"I take it you approve?" Tony asked, pride beneath the hint of question in his tone.

"This is awesome!"

"Good, I'm glad you like it," Tony said. "Now look, most of this is physical interface projection. You can move things around wherever you want, and expand or remove areas or elements as needed. JARVIS will help."

Skye began slowly, tentatively manipulating the data in the air around her. In her mind she heard FitzSimmons telling her that it took years at the Academy to be allowed access to the holotable, and she smiled a little. "Can I type into the files at all?" she asked instead. As she finished the question, a virtual keyboard appeared in the air as well. "Cool. Give me a blank file; I want to see if it can keep up." A plain white screen appeared just above the keyboard and Skye grinned. She began to type furiously, Tony watching over her shoulder with a grin. The interface kept up perfectly well and Skye laughed happily. "Oh, this is amazing! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome – oof!" Tony started to answer and cut off abruptly when Skye threw herself into his arms in an exuberant hug. His usual aversion to touching people only held him for a moment before he gently wrapped his arms around her to return the hug. "I'm glad you like it," he said again, realizing that for once he didn't mind being touched.

Skye drew away, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." She turned her attention back to the screens and saved the notes she had been working on.

"No, it's fine," Tony replied. He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just not used to it. But I really don't mind. You can throw yourself in my arms anytime; as long as we both have clothes on I'm pretty sure neither Pepper nor Steve will kill us."

She laughed in response and nodded. "Probably true." She looked around and watched as Tony waved his hand and closed down the projections. "I really was expecting to be downstairs, taking up a corner of someone else's space. This is way more than I would've asked for."

"You can do your job more effectively with the right resources," Tony replied with a shake of his head. "This whole floor was already set up with all the interfaces for JARVIS, for networking, everything. But I don't share my space well, so I made you your own. This way we don't have to worry about clashing airspace."

Skye nodded. "That makes sense. And I presume that JARVIS has enough virtual memory to keep up with both of us at the same time?"

"Of course. And if we run into trouble, we can always upgrade him. I wanted to talk to you about adding some extra security anyway. Both for up here and down at R&D."

"I'd be happy to help," Skye agreed readily. "But we'd better get back upstairs before Natasha sends out a search party."

Tony nodded. "Right. Can't make her mad at us; she's scary when she's mad."

Laughing, Skye followed Tony out of the lab – her lab. It was quite a rush to realize that she had such an awesome workspace all to herself.

* * *

><p>TBC...<p> 


End file.
